Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Christmas Challenge~ Week 1 Weigh In

2011-11-09T07:30:00.000-08:00

This week went really well! I even stayed within my points on Saturday when we went to Red Lobster for dinner. I'm not expecting to lose this much next week because the first week on plan is normally a high loss. It's a great start to my Christmas challenge. I'm sticking to the No Fast Food and No Starbucks policy. It's too easy to go overboard...

Starting Weight 6/10: 265
Starting Challenge Weight 11/2: 226
Current: 221
Change: -5!!
Total: -44
Left until Christmas Goal:
6
Left until Ultimate Goal: 46

Off to a great start!!

Halloween Candy...

2011-11-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

Halloween candy is a pain. I wasted way too many points on that yesterday. I don't even eat candy often. We don't buy it frequently and it's not a big craving. But for some reason I can't stay away from it! I told the girls they each get to fill up a sandwich baggie with their favorites tonight and the rest is being donated. None of us need all that junk!

Even with the candy yesterday, I'm still down a pound. Hoping I can keep it up. Monday will be tough because we're having a potluck at work. I'm going to eat low point for breakfast and lunch to save for the evening!

So far I've stayed OP and tracked for 3 days. Woot!

Christmas Challenge~ Starting Weigh In

2011-11-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

My weigh in day is on Wednesday. So even though I started tracking points again yesterday, today is my first official day. I'm up 4lbs total from my lowest weight in August. Hoping I'll see a change next week!

Starting: 265 (Right after having Noah 16 months ago.)
Current: 226
Change: +4 since August 2011.
Total: -39
Left until Christmas Goal: 11
Left until Ultimate Goal: 51

Today's Tracker:

B: 2 Egg White burritos on low carb tortillas- 7pts
Coffee with splenda and Creamer- 1pt

L: Leftover Mummy Dog, Apple- 11pts

S: ??

D: Tuna/Cheese pita, Carrots with FF dip, Apple, SF Jello- 7pts

S: ??

Total: 26/38 so far

Having Trouble This Time...

2011-11-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

I've had 3 healthy pregnancies but gained 50-60lbs each time. I also gained 10lbs after the stress of my miscarriage. I started Weight Watchers Online about 8 weeks after I had Hannah. Weight dropped off quickly (probably because my wedding was 8 months away...that's great motivation). I successfully lost all of my pregnancy weight plus another 10lbs...and then got pregnant with Avery. And I gained it back all over again. Went back on WW and lost it all in about 16 months. Then I got pregnant about a year later. Whew. This time the weight hasn't come right off. My motivation and determination SUCK! My last goal was to lose 10lbs between mid-August and Halloween...I lost none.

So I'm starting again. And this time I have to start adding some exercise! A friend of mine just had her first baby this past week and we're going to start going for walks once she recovers. It's tough working in the evenings because I feel like I have no time during the day to relax and still get things done before it's time to go to work. I'm starting to think our tv needs to stay off during the day. Do we seriously need to watch Price is Right every day?

I'm ready for this:

October 2011- 225lbs

To look more like this:

August 2009- 199lbs

My ultimate goal is 175...about where I was before Jason and I started dating over 8 years ago. But for now, I'm setting my Christmas goal, following in the path of my awesome friend, Elizabeth. I would like to lose 10lbs by then. That's just about 1.5lbs a week.

First step, no more fast food. Which means I need to 100% plan my dinners for work. It's so easy to get lazy. And saying no to Tuesday Night pizza that the guys bring in. I'm also going to attempt to cut back on my Starbucks...though the Skinny Peppermint Mochas aren't too high in points. :)

And I'm going to go for a walk tomorrow morning after I take the girls to school. Avery goes 2-3 days a week. So I'm aiming for 3 mornings a week to start.

Wish me luck!

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/12/11

2011-09-11T23:10:00.001-07:00

Here is are menu plan for the week. I work evenings M-F so Jason is in charge of dinner. It's hard juggling the 3 kids and cooking so I either plan something really easy (hot dogs/mac & cheese etc) or something I can prep or make ahead for them.

Monday 9/12: Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Tuesday 9/13: Crockpot Italian Chicken, Noodles, Rolls

Wednesday 9/14: Chili, Cornbread

Thursday 9/15: Take Out (Back to School Night)

Friday 9/16: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread

Saturday 9/17: Steak, Sauted Mushrooms, Rice Pilaf, Steamed Carrots

Sunday 9/18: Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

First Day of School 2011!

2011-09-06T11:27:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of school! I'm am so happy that the girls both love school. They couldn't wait to go!

Hannah is in Kindergarten with Mrs. Cheney. Last year she tested in to Junior Kindergarten because of her social skills. So this is her second year of Kindergarten. She's one of the 2 oldest (a friend of hers was held back) and seems to be ahead of the game. She knows exactly what to do and how to behave. All of the other kids in her class came straight from Preschool. She has a new teacher but already knows her and her teacher aid is her aid from Jr K.

Avery is in her last year of preschool. She has the same teacher Hannah did when she was 4. Her cousin, Hayden, is also going to DCS this year and is in her class. They're both very excited! Right now Avery is only going 2 days a week but I'm hoping to bump her up to 3 days next month.

Fall is almost here and we're ready to get back into the groove! Add in the fact that I had my first Fall Pumpkin Spice Latte this morning and I'm one happy Momma!

Summer Fun

2011-08-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

We've tried to do some special things with the kids this summer and thought I'd share some pictures!

We went on our very first (and definately not last) camping trip. We went to a small campsite at the bottom of the Sequoia National Forest. It was perfect for a family with little ones.

Our big trip was a surprise for the kids...Disneyland!! We just got them up in the morning without telling them where we were going. We kicked things off with a stop at Krispy Kreme.

We had a great summer (but hot and exhausting!!) and we're ready for Fall. Apple picking and Pumpkin carving are just around the corner!!!

Making Our House A Home...

2011-08-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

We bought our first house almost 2 years ago. It was a new build home so everything was white and we just left it that way. For Mother's Day I decided I really wanted to paint our Master Bedroom. I felt like we hadn't made this into "our" place yet. Our room is always the last thing to be worked on and I thought that should change. We painted it a pale grey-blue and I love it! We haven't been able to buy the accessories and headboard I want yet but it's much more welcoming.

We've started planning how we want to add personal touches to our downstairs great room. I picked a paint color for the 2 main walls.

It's a bit bright but I think it will work with out dark wood furniture. The rest of the walls will get a new coat of white to cover all the finger prints!

We've also been wanting a new (larger) dining table for a long time. Noah will be outgrowing his highchair before we know it and ours only seats 5. A new table isn't exactly in the budget but thanks to my new addiction to Pinterest, I'm feeling creative and crafty. So Jay and I have decided to try building one plus a bench seat (maybe with storage underneath?). We'll buy chairs though...that's a bit out of our ability! Probably unfinished ones though so we can stain them the same color as the table. I'm thinking something like this but stained all a dark brown (no white):

We also plan on pulling up the carpet downstairs and putting in laminate. We learned the hard way that getting the cheapest quality carpet/padding when building a home isn't smart. We cleaned our beige carpet with our carpet cleaner and the blue color from the padding bled through. We now have blue spots everywhere! :(

I'll post photo updates as we get things done! I'm also going to be making some holiday/home decor from ideas I've gotten on Pinterest!

We're Back and Ready for Fall!

2011-08-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

Long time no see! My blog was pushed to the back of my mind with all of the changes this past year. Juggling 3 kiddos, working and going to school can be insane...and exhausting! So we're back and with a new name and design!

We're hanging in there. Jason is still out of work but hasn't really been looking. It's so easy having him home to pick the kids up from school and be with the kids while I work from 3p-1130p. His unemployment won't last forever though so his job hunt will start again soon.

The girls start school in less than 2 weeks and are really excited. I'm so glad they enjoy school. I loved elementary school and I hope they continue to! Hannah decided she wants to try gymnastics this year instead of cheer. It seems like it'll definately be more of a workout and will hopefully get rid of some of her extra energy! Avery will be starting her last year of preschool and her cousin, Hayden, will be in her class. She's very excited! I can't believe I'll have 2 kids in elementary school next year...

Noah's such a little man now! He just turned 14 months and is a full-on walker now. Not really talking at all...more of a squealer...but Avery didn't talk until around 18 months so I'm not really concerned. He's such a happy, well-behaved boy! He's extremely tolerant even when his schedule gets messed up.

I'm enjoying my new job but it's tiring working full-time. I have my moments where I wish I could go back to part-time or be a SAHM. But that's not something we can do right now. It'll be hard once the girls are in school because I'll only see Hannah in the mornings before she goes to school and on the weekends. I worry that she'll look back on her childhood and think I was never around. I would definately switch to day shift if the opportunity came up!

I'm also back on Weight Watchers and finally trying to get rid of the last of the baby weight. My hope is that we will be in a better financial situation next summer and I'll have gotten down to my goal weight so we can TTC#4 (and our last!).

I've also become a Pinterest addict as of late and am feeling the urge to get crafty! I plan to post all of my crafts, decor and baking here as I go!

My Healthy Eater!

2011-01-18T10:32:00.001-08:00

This is what my 3 year old asked to have for snack:

Light Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge, Organic baby carrots, Tomato slices, Celery

And she ate it all! Hoping she stays a healthy eater as she grows up!

~~7 Months Old~~

2011-01-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Today my baby boy, Noah, turned 7 months old! His first year is just flying by! I am so thankful to have this little boy in my life. He is such a joy and the light of our lives. His sisters adore him and he is fascinated by them!

At 7 months Noah:

~Can roll both ways...across the floor!

~Is working towards pushing himself up on all 4s.

~Can scootch around (usually backwards!)

~Babbles and squeals constantly. I think his first word is right around the corner!

~Eats like a champ! He's still nursing or drinking EBM about 5 times a day. He's also eating solids (homemade by Mommy! Yay!) 3 times a day. His favorites are Sweet Potato, Avocado, Peas and Carrots. Chicken is pretty much the only thing he won't eat but that might be because I didn't puree it well!

~Sleeps from 7pm to 5am. Then he nurses in bed with Mommy and goes back to sleep until 8 or 9a! He also take two 2-2 1/2 hour naps during the day. He's a great sleeper (A first for us!) and prefers to be laid down in his crib awake with his Sound/Light Projector, binky, Jedi dog and StarWars bear so he can fall asleep on his own. Such a blessing!

~Loves his jumperoo and any toy he can stick in his mouth!

~Wears 6-9 month clothes but will be outgrowing them soon. He's wearing size 3 diapers and will be for a while still.

~Loves showers and baths...but hates getting out!

Noah Gryphon~ 7 Months

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/17/11

2011-01-18T08:46:00.001-08:00

I'm not planning on going grocery shopping this week since there's a holiday delay in getting Jason's next check. I'm going to do my best with what we've got at home already. We flip flopped some of our meals from last week and had leftovers one night because no one was super hungry. Can't wait to go grocery shopping though because I want to try some new things (couscous!) next week! :) Have a great week everyone!!

Monday 1/17- Tamale Pie (This was great! Even Miss Picky Hannah ate it...beans and all! I eliminated the pepper in it because I can't stand them. LoL)

Tuesday 1/18- BBQ Pulled Pork (freezer), Baked Potatoes, Corn

Wednesday 1/19- Ham, Stuffing, Gravy (all from freezer), Green Beans

Thursday 1/20- Potato Cheese Soup (freezer), Corn Bread Muffins (looking for a scratch recipe!)

Friday 1/21- Steak/Mushroom Fajitas

Saturday 1/22- Date Night Takeout??

Check back next week for some new recipes!

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/10/11

2011-01-11T08:28:00.001-08:00

I always work on Mondays so I never go grocery shopping until Tuesday or Wednesday. My weekly plans start those days. This one is Wed-Tues. :) I'm a bit burned out in the cooking department so I have a few easy or freezer food days on here. I am trying a new recipe on Tuesday though. (In fact, I'm trying a new one tonight too from last weeks plan...must be a Tuesday thing!)

Wednesday 1/12- Lemon Butter Tilapia, Brown Rice, Green Beans
Thursday 1/13- Veggie Lasagna, Salad
Friday 1/14- Date Night! Takeout for Mommy and Daddy!
Saturday 1/15- Eggs, Sausage, Biscuits and Gravy
Sunday 1/16- Ham, Stuffing (both from freezer), Broccoli
Monday 1/17- Pulled Pork (freezer), Baked Potatoes, Corn
Tuesday 1/18- Tamale Pie

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans and recipes!

A Milestone for Noah!

2011-01-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

My little No-No got his first tooth (At 9 days shy of 7 months)! It just broke through today without any fussing at all from him! :) You can just see the tip of his bottom right center tooth. I can't believe how fast his first year is flying by...it seems like he was just born. Now he's rolling and scootching across the floor, having fits of Baby Giggles when we play Peak-A-Boo and eating solids like a mad man!

Pretty soon this sweet, gummy baby smile with be a tooth-filled grin!

52 Weeks of Organizing!

2011-01-07T20:13:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late since we're already a full week into 2011 but I plan on working on my list this weekend! Such a great idea. Make a list of 52 household projects and tackle one each week for the year. Sounds like a perfect way to get our house in order and keep up with it.

Thank you OrgJunkie for the list template! 52 Weeks Checklist!

I hope to post my list by Tuesday!

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hopefully I can stay on the ball this time! Blogging is a good way to keep me on track and help me remember the fun things we experience every day. :)

We had a great and busy Christmas with our families. The girls had a blast and I think Avery really liked having her sister home for Winter Break. Hannah's winter break was extended by a day because we had a VERY rare SoCal Snow Day! We had about 4 inches here which is a ton for the Mojave Desert! The girls had fun playing until the sun came out and it melted away...

2010 was a happy but very stressful year. At this point, Jason has been out of work for over 4 months and finances are very tight. We're just trying to push through until he gets a job and I get one closer to home. We pulled Avery out of Preschool before Thanksgiving and she really misses her friends. We hope we can send her back as soon as our jobs stabilize.

For now, Jason is enjoying all the time he has to spend with his little boy. This is the most time he's been able to spend with any of our kids, especially at such a young age. Noah's a super easy baby and I'm hoping he'll help me convince his Daddy to let us have 1 more baby in a year or two! :)

Hoping things will look up in 2011 for us!

Menu Plan...Wednesday! 1/5/11

2011-01-05T16:24:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm such a terrible blogger...I can never seem to remember to post! I'm grocery shopping mid-week so here's our Wed-Tues menu plan.

Wednesday 1/5- Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon
Thursday 1/6- Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Brown Rice
Friday 1/7- Steah/Mushroom Fajitas
Saturday 1/8- Homemade Mini-Pizzas, Salad
Sunday 1/9- BLTs/Turkey Clubs, Chips/Salsa, Fruit
Monday 1/10- Sesame Chicken, Brown Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday 1/11- Creamy Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta, Green Beans

We're both trying to lose weight and Jason is trying to control his blood sugars. (He's Type 2 Diabetic.) So we're using low carb pasta etc. :) A bit pricier but hopefully better for us!

Visit OrgJunkie on Mondays for more Menu Plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/11/10

2010-10-11T15:41:00.001-07:00

It's Monday again already? The week just flew by and I didn't get a chance to post anything since last Monday's MPM! I really need a blog schedule.

This past week I made my first baby food! (Yay Me for waiting until my 3rd baby to do this!) I baked off a sweet potato and a sugar pumpkin and made a bunch of puree. Noah LOVED the sweet potato and it made a bunch (frozen in an ice cube tray for single portions). I definitely won't be buying any sweet potato baby food! He's not too sure about the pumpkin but I made some awesome Pumpkin Bread and have more puree frozen to make a couple loaves. :) I'm trying to decide what kind to make next!

Here's what we're eating this week!

Monday 10/11- Chicken Picatta (didn't make last week), Noodles, Broccoli

Tuesday 10/12- Tacos/Nachos (Leftover Taco Meat), Salad

Wednesday 10/13- Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Thursday 10/14- Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Friday 10/15- Lemon Tilapia (again didn't make last week), Brown Rice, Broccoli

Saturday 10/16- Sloppy Joes, Salad, Corn, Mac & Cheese

Sunday 10/17- Chili, Cornbread

Have a great week! Visit OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/4/10

2010-10-04T06:48:00.000-07:00

So I've been a horrible blogger lately...a full month since my last post? Sorry! I started back to work and the kids started school so things have been crazy! I'll have to start scheduling blog time. :)

Here's this week's menu!

Monday 10/4- Cowboy Casserole

Tuesday 10/5- Tacos (me and Hubby), Pizza Pockets (girls)

Wednesday 10/6- Chicken Piccata, Noodles, Green Beans

Thursday 10/7- Steak and Mushroom Fajitas

Friday 10/8- Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Beans

Saturday 10/9- Chicken Sandwiches, Chips, Carrots, Celery, Dip

Sunday 10/10- Leftovers

Monday 10/11- Lemon Butter Tilapia, Brown Rice, Broccoli

Check out OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/4/10

2010-09-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

We've been making a ton of new recipes the past few weeks and while they've been wonderful, they've also increased the amount I've been spending on groceries. So I thought I'd take a break this week and clear out the freezer. The girls also start school this week and I go back to work on Saturday so I need a bit of a break!

I'm trying not too buy too many prepackaged foods for Hannah's lunches. There is a lot of wasteful packaging not too mention artificial flavors and junk. So this week I made Apple Pie Muffins and froze some for this week. I also made Homemade Granola Bars for her to take for snacks.

Jason got laid off last week so he'll be home for lunches again. He requested Broccoli and Cheese Soup that he can just reheat for himself.

Here's what we're eating this week!

Sunday 9/5- BBQ Pulled Pork (freezer) Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob, Salad, Watermelon

Monday 9/6- Chicken (freezer) Taquitos, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Tuesday 9/7- Takeout Pizza (First Day of School!)

Wednesday 9/8- Sloppy Joes (freezer), Tatertots, Green Beans

Thursday 9/9- Tacos, Leftover Spanish Rice

Friday 9/10- Spaghetti (freezer), Salad, Bread

Saturday 9/11- Steak and Mushroom Fajitas (Hubby cooking!)

Sunday 9/12- Pizza Burritos (freezer), Salad

Check out OrgJunkie for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/30/10

2010-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm in a Fall kind of mood today! The weather has been cool and breezy and so very Fall! I absolutely love Fall and will be pulling out my decor this weekend. :)

I'm happy to say ALL of the recipes we tried next week were a hit! I think our fave was the Laughing Cow Chicken Cordon Bleu. Even the kids ate extra servings! We'll definately be adding them to our favorites list.

This is a special week for us. Tuesday is Jason's 39th birthday and Thursday is our anniversary! We've been together for 7 years and married for 4!

Saturday 8/28- Pizza Burritos, Watermelon

Sunday 8/29-Chili Dogs, Mac and Cheese

Monday 8/30- Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich (Adding Mushrooms and cheese), Salad, Watermelon

Tuesday 8/31- Hubby's Birthday! Swedish Meatballs, Potatoes, Green Beans,
German Chocolate Cake (from scratch)

Wednesday 9/1- Cheesy Mac and Trees, Onion Rings

Thursday 9/2- Chicken Tortilla Soup (freezer), Chips, Homemade Guacamole

Friday 9/3- Spaghetti and Crockpot Meatballs, Salad

Saturday 9/4- Anniversary Dinner! Copycat Maggiano's Shrimp Scampi, Artisan Bread, Dessert

Check out OrgJunkie for more menus and a giveaway this week!

Prepping for School Lunches

2010-08-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Q over at Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project is hosting a Back to School blog party and I thought it'd be a great time for me to blog about what we're doing this year!

Hannah will be starting Junior Kindergarten in a week and a half. Lunch will no longer be provided and I've been prepping to start packing her lunches. Last year I started reading bento blogs and decided that I want to pack her lunch instead of buying most of the time. I also want to pack green lunches to save one waste and money.

We're lucky enough to send Hannah to a private school but that also means there's not a lot of extra money for her to buy lunch at school. I remember being excited about buying lunch when I was in elementary school and I think my parents let us buy once a week or so. We just received September's hot lunch menu and honestly, Hannah won't eat most of it. Or she'd eat one of the items but not the others. It's really not worth the $4 a day. However, I do remember how "cool" it was to buy lunch so I'll probably let her get it twice a month or so. (She does love pizza!) They're also not the healthiest options (though not as bad as other schools I've seen!) so packing enables me to control what she eats.

She's also really excited to bring her lunch to school. She's been looking at the blogs with me and seeing the fun lunches other mom's packed last year. (Check out Another Lunch and What's for Lunch at Our House to see what I mean!) And between Facebook Giveaways from Green My Lunchbox and the Dollar Spot at Target, we've gotten some really great waste-free lunch items that Hannah's excited to bring to school.

(Left to Right: Water bottles and dip container, Sandwich boxes, veggie/dip box, Lunchskins bags, Goodbyn lunchbox, snack containers, Lunchpunch sandwich cutters)

I'm hoping she'll be willing to try some new things with all her fun containers and such because she can be pretty picky. I've also been practicing using Fondant cutters to cut out veggie and cheese shapes. :)

Check back to see some of Hannah's great, healthy, waste-free lunches this year!

Mammoth Trip~ August 2010

2010-08-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

My family has been going to Mammoth for vacation since I was 5. That's 21 years of wonderful memories! My parents even owned a condo up there for a while and we went multiple times a month in the summers. My siblings and I brought our friends and we went hiking and fishing and just relaxed in the beautiful mountains.

Now it's my turn to help create a second home for my kids. We've gone a handful of times since Hannah was about 2. We try to go with my family for a week in the winter and again in the summer. Noah's first trip was this past week. It was a bit hard to relax with all 3 kids but it was still Mammoth! :)

The girls loved fishing (and so did Daddy!) but Hannah loved splashing in the lake...in her jeans...even more!

We had a great time but are definately glad to be home! It's nice being able to do laundry every day again. (Never thought I'd say that!)

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/23/10

2010-08-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

We're back from vacation! We spent the past week in Mammoth with my family so no menu plans or blogging! (Though we did do a few Alphabet Art projects to be posted later!) After a week of eating junk food and takeout, plus a bout with the stomach flu, I'm SO glad to be back to menu planning. And we're focusing on eating healthier so I can lose this baby weight. Though even with all the junk I ate last week, I still lost 4lbs in 10 days! Must've been the flu!

Since about mid-pregnancy, I've been on a Mexican food kick. That meant we've been eating Tacos, Taquitos or Enchiladas at least once a week (usually twice!). Jason's pretty sick of Mexican now so I promised when we got back from Mammoth (and to an empty fridge), I'd do at least a week of new meals. :) So I'm trying new recipes this week! But now I'm craving tacos so they may just end up on next week's menu!

Here's our plan for this week!

Sunday 8/22- Laughing Cow Chicken Cordon Bleu , Noodles, Broccoli (This was a HUGE hit. The girls amd Jason loved it. I'm bumed that I wasn't feeling that great and was only able to eat a tiny bit.)

Monday 8/23- Baked Lemon Herb Tilapia, Brown Rice, Asparagus, Hollandaise Sauce

Tuesday 8/24-Takeout (2 Kiddos have Well Child appts and then we have to go straight to Hannah's CheerBear registration...maybe I should get Subway and put it in a cooler to bring with us. It's at least healthier then Burger King...the only fast food near their dr!)

Wednesday 8/25- BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches (Crockpot), Tatertots, Corn on the Cob (Still trying to decide which recipe to use for the pulled pork. I've never made or even eaten it before. Any recommendations would be wonderful!)

Thursday 8/26- Chicken Piccata, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Friday 8/27- Leftovers (Hopefully there are some!)

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Alphabet Art Alley (C, D, E)

2010-08-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

I decided not all of our Alphabet Art will actually be shaped like the letters. Some will be things that start with the letter of the day and we talk about the letter as we do the project. Some are still letter shaped when possible! :)

C for Caterpillar (Avery's on the left. Hannah's on the right.)

D for Dinosaur! (Avery's on the right, Hannah's on the left, Momma's on the bottom.)

E for Elephant! (Avery's on the left, Hannah's on the right.)

Hannah has requested F for Fox for tomorrow...going to need to do a trial run of that one! (Like I did for the Dino!)

Flubber!!

2010-08-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

Before Avery left school for the summer, one of her teachers gave be a recipe for "flubber" which the kids love playing with at school. She said she knew I'd have my hands full once Noah was born and this was a great no-mess alternative to Play-doh (which I DESPISE!). We finally got around to making it yesterday and the girls have spent a ton of time (quietly without fighting!) playing with it!

Here's how you make it: (I halved this recipe because a bottle of school glue is 4oz. It made plenty...)

Mix 1: 3/4 cup of Warm water

1 cup of white school glue

Food coloring (We used yellow food coloring gel.)

Mix 2: 1/2 cup of warm water

2 TBSP of Borax (I have no idea what this is or where to get it. They gave me a baggie of it with the recipe. And good thing I decided to make less because there was only 1 TBSP in there!)

Pour Mix 1 into Mix 2 and mix together with hands. (This is a must because it stuck to the plastic fork I tried at first!)

I used a take and toss tupperware container to mix this and now I store it in there. It was a bit watery at first and I put it on a papertowel to get some of the water off. It stuck...oops! So I think if you let it sit for a minute it'll soak up on its own.

This stuff is kinda like silly putty but not as dry. Junk doesn't stick to it if it falls on the floor which is nice!

Late Menu Plan Monday~ 8/9/10

2010-08-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

We have a short menu plan this week because we leave for Mammoth on Friday! My mom gets to handle the dinners while we're there. :)

We've gotten on a major Mexican food kick the past few months so I promised Jason I'll do a change-up when we get back from Mammoth. I'm determined to go at least a few weeks without Tacos...LoL Time to break out my recipe binder!

Monday 8/9- Chicken Taquitos, Spanish Rice, Green Beans

Tuesday 8/10- Pizza Pockets, Salad (didn't make last week)

Wednesday 8/11- CopyCat Maggiano's Shrimp Scampi

Thursday 8/12-Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Alphabet Art Alley!

2010-08-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

The girls have been bored lately (and driving us nuts!) so I decided to start doing daily crafts with them again. My friend, Elizabeth, has a blog post called Tot School that has different learning activities she does with her three boys. Our first two projects were totally stolen from her blog. (Thanks E! LoL) She got the ideas from a great website called No Time for Flashcards. They have great activities and crafts for letters of the alphabet.

Here is our A for Alligator: (Avery's is in her room and she's napping for once so no pic!)

Hannah's

She insisted on a red alligator...and adding rhinestones...and that the teeth didn't go on the inside of the A. Who am I to interfere with her creativity?? LoL

Today we did B for Buzzy Bee!

Hannah's is on the left, Avery's on the right.

Check back for more Alphabet Art Alley!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/2/10

2010-08-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday week!!! I should say that I'm not cooking at all this week and the hubby is waiting on me hand and foot but...umm...this is reality people! :) I love to cook so it's not a biggy! LoL Hubby is cooking on my birthday on Friday though. Yum! I plan on baking my own cake with the girls though...I swear I'll actually let them help...

Sunday 8/1- Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Monday 8/2- Chicken Parm, Spaghetti, Salad

Tuesday 8/3- Tacos (Freezer), Spanish Rice (Didn't make last week)

Wednesday 8/4- Sloppy Joes, Tatertots, Green Beans

Thursday 8/5- Chicken Taquitos, Refried Beans, Leftover Spanish Rice

Friday 8/6- Happy 26th Birthday to Me! Steak and Mushroom Fajitas, Cake!

Saturday 8/7- Pizza Pockets, Salad

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus plans!

From the Mouths of Babes...

2010-07-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I just had to post a funny little snippet from our morning. We're all just hanging out in Momma and Daddy's bedroom this morning and the girls are playing on the floor. Out of nowhere Avery sings, "Red Robin...". We were just waiting for the "Yum..." part! It was just so out of the blue and so funny! Someone's seen too many Red Robin commercials! :)

What About Lunch?

2010-07-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of a lot of bento/lunch blogs like Another Lunch and What's for Lunch at Our House this past year. I'm really excited about packing Hannah fun and healthy lunches when she starts Junior Kindergarten in the Fall. Both of these sites (and many others I visit frequently) have such great ideas and most try to be as Green as possible. We've been trying to use less individually packaged items and things like ziploc bags. I also love the site Green My LunchBox. They feature great green lunch items and I've actually won some great things from their Facebook page! I can't wait to start packing for Hannah!

This is the Goodbyn lunchbox we're waiting to get in the mail right now.

(Picture Courtesy of Goodbyn.com!)

We've also received reusable snack bags from lunchskins and some great sandwich cutters from lunchpunch.

(Pictures Courtesy of lunchskins and lunchpunch!)

Lunches are getting fun around here!

And speaking of lunches, I thought we'd have a little theme lunch today.

An Octopus hotdog with ketchup "squid ink" (Hannah insisted! I said it was water...), Carrot fish, a pretzel stick raft (at least for Avery...Hannah said it's a dock...), celery boats with cherry tomato "people". :) Hannah's super picky so hers had a few more carrot fish and no celery or tomato...

Check back during the school year for posts about Hannah's lunch adventures!

Recipe: Turkey Tacos

2010-07-29T09:32:00.000-07:00

A few years ago when I wasn't working, I started getting really into trying new recipes. Before that our meals pretty much consisted of baked chicken (Shake N Bake or Marinaded), white rice and bread...not healthy and not very interesting. When I started looking for recipes and making them frequently, I realized I was pretty good at picking recipes that we would like or that I could tweak to meet our tastes. There have been very few recipe failures. Now I have some great go-to recipes in my recipe binder! (Though it's time to look for some new ones!)

My favorite find was for Taco Seasoning. I wasn't too fond of the taco seasoning packets we always used and I thought we could make our own with spices we had instead. So I found this recipe: Taco Seasoning 1. I found that it was too spicy while I was cooking it the first time and added some Tomato Sauce. I'm still not sure what made me think of that since I'd never used it except in chili. I now have a ton on hand at all times! It made this recipe perfect! (Still spicy though! Just warning ya!)

Turkey Tacos
1 1/4 lb Ground Turkey (You could use beef if you prefer.)
Taco Seasoning 1 (I use the entire amount made in the recipe above.)
Tomato Sauce (About 1/2 cup...pretty much just to your taste)
1 Onion diced
Minced Garlic

1. Saute the minced garlic and onions in olive oil until soft.
2. Add ground turkey. Cook until browned thoroughly.
3. Add Taco Seasoning and Tomato Sauce. Simmer or about 10 min. Add extra tomato sauce or a bit of water if too dry.

Serve in anyway you like your Taco Meat! We originally added a scoop in a white corn tortilla with a small amount of cheese and the pan fried until crisp. They are AMAZING that way but obviously not very good for you. We now switched to just having the meat in a heated white corn tortilla with a bit of cheese and some sour cream (or salsa for the hubby). The meat is so flavorful that it still tastes awesome!

Simple but so good! And it freezes well. I made 3 batches for the freezer before we had the baby and it was so fast to thaw one over night and just microwave when we were ready for dinner.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Next Recipe: Spanish Rice!

Menu Plan...Wednesday 7/28/10

2010-07-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

I swore I was going to post more when I started blogging again...but it's been 10 days since my last one! Oops! Need to start joining more daily memes. I got up early one morning (and only the once!) before the girls or hubby were up and thoroughly enjoyed my quiet time with the boy and even took him out for a walk before they were awake. I'm determined to start doing that consistantly. It's such a relaxing way to start the day! It'll just have to be a bit earlier when DH starts work again in a week and a half...

Here's our menu for the week!

Monday 7/26: Frozen Pizza...DH was sick and told me to just make something easy...LoL

Tuesday 7/27: Chicken Stroganoff, Green Beans, Salad

Wednesday 7/28: Boneless Buffalo Wings, Mac & Cheese, Salad

Thursday 7/29: Tacos, Spanish Rice, Corn (Recipes will be posted tomorrow! LOVE THEM!)

Friday 7/30: Chicken Parm, Spaghetti, Salad

Saturday 7/31: Date Night!

Sunday 8/1: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

~~1 Month Old!!~~

2010-07-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Our little boy is 1 month old today!

Time is flying by and I'm trying to enjoy every second. Noah might be our last baby and I don't want to miss anything! He's doing great and sleeping longer periods at night (and wreaking havoc on my milk supply!). The Newborn clothes are getting packed away since he's gotten so tall already!

I'm so in love with my little guy!

Menu Plan Monday~ 7/12/10

2010-07-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

We ended up not going to my sister's last week because the weather wasn't great for a beach trip. So we rescheduled for this week. Lunches were hit or miss last week because we kept going to the waterpark etc. Hopefully we can plan better this week!

Monday 7/12- B: Egg/Cheese/Turkey Sausage Burritos, Oranges
L: Sandwiches, Fruit, Veggies
D: Chicken Taquitos, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans

Tuesday 7/13- B: Ham/Cheese Eggs, Toast, Yogurt
L: Grilled Cheese, Soup
D: Turkey Sloppy Joes, Fries, Green Beans

Wednesday 7/14- B: Oatmeal
L: Hotdogs, Mac & Cheese, Fruit
D: Tacos, Spanish Rice

Thursday 7/15- B: Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit
L: Sandwiches, Pretzels, Fruit (At the Beach!)
D: At my sister's

Friday 7/16- B: Cereal/Grits
L: Take Out (Dr Appt)
D: Ham, Stuffing, Broccoli

Saturday 7/17- B: Eggs, Bacon, Toast
L: Leftovers
D: Steak, Grilled Onion/Potatoes, Salad (Girls at Nana's!)

Head over to OrgJunkie for more weekly menus!

Wordless Wednesday~ 7/7/10

2010-07-07T10:20:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait of My Then 3 Year Old. :)

Summer Time!

2010-07-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

This is our first official summer vacation. This was the girls' first year of school and they have the summer off. Plus Jason and I are both on leaves of absence. So we've been staying up late and taking are time getting up in the morning. It's actually pretty strange! I haven't had a summer vacation since highschool!

We're spending a lot of our time at the local water park. The girls love it and I can't wait for Noah to be big enough to go in the water too!

Menu Plan Monday~ 7/5/10

2010-07-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

We haven't been sticking to a menu plan in a long time...especially since the baby was born. Which has lead to a lot of random grocery trips and wasted food! Plus too much takeout! So we're going to do a full plan for a while since the hubby and kids are all home. Here's a meals for the week!

Sunday 7/4- D: Ribs, Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Baked Beans, Ice Cream

Monday 7/5- B: Blueberry Pancakes, Sausage
L: Mac & Cheese with Hotdogs, Fruit
D: Spaghetti, Salad, Bread

Tuesday 7/6- B: Ham/Cheese Eggs, Toast, Yogurt
L: Out to Lunch (Dr Appt)
D: Crockpot Enchilada Bake, Chips/Salsa

Wednesday 7/7- B: Oatmeal
L: Sandwiches, Chips, Fruit
D: Chicken Stroganoff, Broccoli, Bread

Thursday 7/8- B: Cereal, Toast, Fruit
L: Leftovers
D: Sloppy Joes, Mac & Cheese, Green Beans

Friday 7/9- B: Eggs, Sausage, Toast
L: At my sister, Jill’s
D: At my sister, Jill’s

Saturday 7/10- B: Eggs, Bacon, Toast
L: Take Out
D: Cousin Katie’s Birthday Party

And We're BACK!

2010-07-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in almost a year! What happened? Well, I got pregnant! And was very tired...and working alot...and had two kiddos in school...but we're back!

How about a little update?

So a baby huh? Yup! Just 6 weeks after we miscarried last year, we were pregnant again! I had a very healthy pregnancy (though I gained WAY too much weight...again!) and we now have a very healthy, happy baby BOY! I finally have my boy and I'm so in love! Noah Gryphon Lindsey was born on June 18th, 2010 at 5:22pm at 8lbs 3oz and 21 inches. He looks just like his big sisters and is a wonderful baby.

Meet Mr. No-No:

Now for the big kids...Hannah will be 5 in November and is acting like a preteen! :) She had a great year at preschool and will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall. Both girls are home for the summer while I'm on maternity leave and they're having a bit of trouble adjusting to being home so much. I'm definately looking forward to school starting in September! Hannah's working on sight words and can sound out quite a few smaller words on her own. She'll be reading in no time! She also wants to start cheerleading in the Fall. We'll see how our shy girl does with that!

Miss Avery will be 3 in September. She's definately in the midst of the Terrible 2s. She's even more stubborn then her sister! Our little TomBoy is infatuated with Spiderman and keeps telling us she wants a Spiderman cake for her birthday. :) She had a great year in the 2's preschool class and we're hoping we can send her a few days a week in the Fall. We're just working on the potty training so she can move up to the 3's!

Jason and I are doing well. I'm still trying to finish my prereqs for the nursing program. It's tough to get into the classes which is becoming a frustrating set back. Jason is home for 2 months to bond with the baby. FMLA is a wonderful thing. We're trying to spend as much quality time as we can with the kids since we might not have this amount of time together again. (Maybe in 3 years or so if I can convince him to have another baby!)

Menu Plan (Tuesday?) 8/31/09

2009-09-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

Late yet again! Now that I'm going to school Monday nights, I'm going to have to try and post these as soon as it's up on Sundays! Monday was DH's birthday but I had class so we celebrated tonight! I'll post about my first try making a cake from scratch later this week!

I'm planning on posting recipes later this week if I get the chance!

Mon 8/31- Red Beans/Rice, Sausage, Broccoli
Tues 9/1- Steak/Mushroom Fajitas, German Chocolate Cake (from SCRATCH!)
Wed 9/2- Breakfast Bake, Pears
Thurs 9/3- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans
Fri 9/4- Tacos, Beans, Chips/Salsa
Sat 9/5- BBQ at Mom's (My brother's girlfriend's birthday)
Sun 9/6- Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Gravy, Carrots

Check out OrgJunkie for more menus!

Updates On Us!

2009-08-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

We have so much going on right now...it's a bit crazy!! (Ok ALOT crazy!)

First of all, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! WOOHOO! :) We finally got the courage to just try and apply for a home loan last month. And to our surprise, we were approved! So we called the KBHomes community we had been wanting to buy a new home in...and they were sold out! Ugh! All of the other communities were out of our price range and so we decided we'd have to start thinking about getting an older home (we really wanted new because we won't have the time/money after we close to fix one up). Then DH went by a KB community we didn't want to even look at after seeing them online. They were detached condos that were 2 story. (We wanted one story.) Long story short, he LOVED them! I went after work and fell for them to! We put a deposit down, picked our options and they started building within 2 weeks. We're excited and nervous to own our first home! The house will be finished in October and we plan to move early November! :) Pics of the build later!

And now for the kids!

Hannah is in a bit of a funk lately. I'm not sure what it is but she's is whinging CONSTANTLY! She starts PreK in 2 weeks and we're hoping that will help! And yes...my little girl is starting school! I can't believe how fast time has gone. It's actually pretty sad that she'll be in school now until she's and adult...no more staying home with Mommy (even though it's only one day a week now that I work FT...). I know she's going to love school though and it'll be great for her to have a routine 5 days a week with the same friends!

Avery will be 2 in a little over a month! I don't have anymore babies! :( She's doing well...terrible twos aren't horrible yet (though I'm sure we'll see more soon! LoL). She's talking so much more and even stringing words together in sentences. We were worried about her lack of speech at 18 months...not anymore! Yay for Avery-baby! She'll be starting school with Hannah also (in the 2 year old class) so I'm sure she'll pick up even more language around all those other kids.

And I've started school again. Working FT and going to school, moving, possibly getting pregnant again, holidays, kids' school stuff...we're in for a BUSY Fall! But I am so EXCITED for FALL!!! :)

Look for a Picture Update SOON! :)

A Month Ago...

2009-08-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

A month ago today, I miscarried our 3rd baby at 6 weeks 2 days. It was really early and it wasn't painful really (physically). We'd been TTC for 4 months so it was really devestating. My OB gave us the all clear to start TTC again right away. We've still been trying so now it's just up to God to decide when He wants to bless us with another healthy pregnancy. But for now, I pray every day for my AngelBaby and I'm sure God has a little Angel flitting around him. :) Never Forgotten, Forever Missed!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/24/09

2009-08-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

So I got to work this morning, and opened my day planner to mark off the days that had passed and realized I start school tonight! Ahh!! I completely forgot and am so not prepared. I normally have my bag packed the night before so I can just grab it and go after dinner. (Class is from 7-10pm) So I'm just doing a quick post and then have to shower and make dinner before DH gets home. Hopefully I can get to class early and buy my last book.

Anyone else SUPER excited that Fall is just around the corner? I decided I'm going pack away all of my regular decor for the move and pull out my Fall stuff in 2 weeks when the girls start school. That's not too early right? :) I figure I can just pack it all back up right before we move since that's what the decor will be in November anyway.

And I can't wait to start baking! Pumpkin bread anyone?

Monday 8/24: Chicken Stroganoff and Rolls (didn't make last week)

Tuesday 8/25: Chicken Potpie

Wednesday 8/26: Homemade Pizza

Thursday 8/27: Shake n Bake Chicken, Noodles, Green Beans

Friday 8/28: Chicken Taquitos, Chips and Guacamole

Saturday 8/29: Takeout? Need to go to Costco for more meat!

Sunday 8/30: Working a double shift so DH is on his own with the kiddos!

Have a great week all! Check out OrgJunkie for more weekly menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/17/09

2009-08-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted as much as I thought I would but a 6 day stretch at work will do that to ya! At least I'm keeping up with MPM!

Sunday 8/16- Shrimp Chowmein
Monday 8/17- Eggs, Bacon, Biscuits & Gravy
Tuesday 8/18- Homemade Turkey Chili, Cornbread Muffins
Wednesday 8/19- Baked Potatoes with Leftover Chili, Cheese, Broccoli & Sour Cream
Thursday 8/20- Chicken Strognoff over Wheat Egg Noodles, Corn
Friday 8/21- San Diego!!!! Hopefully something cheap!
Saturday 8/22- At SeaWorld!!!
Sunday 8/23- Something on the way home from San Diego!

Have a great week everyone!

Head over to Org Junkie for more menu!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/10/09

2009-08-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

A day late but it's here! I've still been menu planning since I last posted I just haven't been blogging it. I'm actually doing a 2 week plan now which is working pretty well! I only shop once every 2 weeks with a quick stop in between if needed for milk etc. And for 2 weeks, I'm spending less than $80 on average! I'm not sure if I'm going to post to MPM weekly or every other week. Maybe I'll post the 2 weeks and if there are any changes to the 2nd week (which there usually are), I'll post that week as well. For today, I'll just post the end of this plan since my new one starts this weekend. :)

Monday 8/10- Nachos (Cheese, Black Beans, Turkey Taco Meat)

Tuesday 8/11- Steak, Shrimp, Grilled Corn, Grilled Potatoes and Onions

Wednesday 8/12- Burritos

Thursday 8/13- Subway (picnic at Thursday Night on the Square)

Friday 8/14- Cheese Ravioli, French Rolls, Green Beans

I'm Back!

2009-08-10T10:39:00.001-07:00

Things have been so crazy the past few months and I've fallen off the blog bandwagon! Now I'm back and have a lot to post about. Coming later today: Update on the girls (with pics!), Our NEW HOUSE, and Menu Plan Monday!

Anyone have any favorite Daily MEMEs to keep me posting?

Menu Plan...Wednesday...5/27/09

2009-05-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

I'm late again this week! But then again, I'm doing a 2 week menu so I'm technically early for next week! :)

I've decided to try and keep doing 2 week plans and only going grocery shopping once every 2 weeks. Less impulse buying and less time spent shopping! I only spent $80 this week for 2 weeks! :)

Sunday 5/24- Chicken Taquitos, Corn

Monday 5/25- Mom’s (Hamburgers)

Tuesday 5/26- Mom’s (Ham Bean Soup)

Wednesday 5/27- Chicken Noodle Soup, Grilled Ham and Cheese

Thursday 5/28- Potato Chip Chicken Nuggets, Mac & Cheese, Carrots/Dip

Friday 5/29- Chili Dogs, Veggies/Dip

Saturday 5/30- Shrimp, Spaghetti Squash

Sunday 5/31- Turkey Mushroom Burgers, Salad

Monday 6/1- Tacos, Rice, Beans

Tuesday 6/2- Shake N Bake Chicken, Stuffing, Broccoli

Wednesday 6/3- Tortellini Soup, Rolls

Thursday 6/4- BBQ Chicken, Salad, Rolls

Friday 6/5- Fish, Rice, Veggies

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Kitchen Inventory!

2009-05-13T21:12:00.001-07:00

I am so glad I snagged this idea from my friend, Elizabeth! I did my kitchen inventory today and just typed it up. I think I can make a lot of meals with what we have so I can cut the grocery budget for June. I also realized we have barely any fruits and veggies in the house. How terrible! I'm not too sure how that happened...I just didn't think to buy any this week since we weren't going to be home much. Guess I'll be making another trip to the store soon! So this will be a really long post but here's my FULL kitchen inventory. Fridge, Freezer, Pantry and Spice cabinet. I'll update it as we use things or go shopping. Hopefully I can just use mostly what we already have! Oh and for the weird things in my freezer. I've decided I hate wasting the leftover tomato sauce and stuff so I've been freezing small portions. It actually works out great if I just need a tablespoon or something in a recipe.

Kitchen Inventory 5/12/09

Fridge

~~½ Tub light sour cream~~
Large Tub Light Margarine
3 sticks margarine
4lbs shredded Cheddar/Mozzarella Mix
1 ¼ gallon 1% milk
5 sugar free pudding cups
1 sugar free jello cup
1 tube crescent rolls
½ 1/4 Large jar plain applesauce
2 individual serving Pedialytes
½ onion
1 pack baby carrots
1 bottle white wine (for cooking)
11 eggs
Bacon
Turkey bologna
10 hotdogs
13 cheese slices
Turkey pepperoni
1/2 wheel laughing cow cheese wedges
2 1 pack deli ham
2 1 pack deli turkey
~~1 pack light salami~~
1/3 pack hot sausage
Salsa
General Tso sauce
Ginger dressing
Light Mayo
Minced Ginger
Stir Fry Sauce
Pizza Sauce
Strawberry Jelly
Spray butter
Shredded Parmesan
~~Ketchup~~
Apple Juice
Orange Juice
Italian Dressing
Mustard (2)
Minced Garlic
A1 steak sauce
BBQ sauce
Teriyaki sauce

Freezer

~~1- 3 meat pizza~~
½ Jar Enchilada sauce
½ Jar Tomato sauce
Turkey Gravy
2 cups (in ½ cup portions) Buttermilk
2 1 Sliced Banana
Graham cracker crumbs (for pie crust)
Fat Free Orange Sherbet
Pedialyte Pops
1 big stick popsicle
1 ¼ lb pack ground turkey
2 Pack Gorton’s Garlic Butter Fillet
1 Cooked chicken breast (for pot pie)
4 slices Turkey Meatloaf
3- 2packs boneless skinless chicken breasts
½ bag popcorn chicken
2 breaded tilapia fillets
½ bag broccoli cuts (for soup)

Pantry

Peanut butter
2 English muffins
8 tortillas
~~½ loaf wheat Sandwich bread~~
4lb jar Spaghetti Sauce
½ box instant white rice
1 box Spanish Rice A Roni
Lasagna noodles
½ box fettuccine
Whole Wheat Spaghetti
3 boxes Macaroni and Cheese
1 box Whole Wheat Rigatoni
1 pack Chow Mein Noodles
½ container StoveTop stuffing
2- 3oz packs tuna
½ bag Whole Wheat egg noodles
1 beef Top Ramen
Croutons
Quick Grits
1 can hot dog chili sauce
1 can Rotel
1 can Manwich Sauce
1 can Italian marinated olives
1 can creamed corn
1 can Mandarin oranges
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 large can veggie soup
1 family size chicken noodle soup
Potato Corn Chowder mix
Tortellini soup mix
Cheddar Potato soup mix
1 Cup O Noodles
4 Tuna lunch kits
Saltines
1 container Carnation Instant Breakfast
¼ box Cheerios
~~Rice Krispies (almost gone)~~
~~Honey Oat cereal~~
6 packs oatmeal
6 100 cal pack microwave popcorn
Twizzlers
~~3 packs fruit snacks~~

Baking

1 1/2 bag semisweet chocolate chips
Mini candy canes
Marshmallows
Plain bread crumbs (2)
1lb Quick oats
5lbs Whole Wheat Flour
Gingerbread cookie mix
10lb White Flour
Brown Sugar
Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
Splenda (large bag)
1 bottle Karo Syrup
4lb white sugar
Peanut Butter cookie mix
1 Chocolate ready crust
1 pack instant chocolate pudding
½ pack sliced almonds
Powdered sugar
Sprinkles
Food Coloring
Banking Soda/Powder
Cornstarch
Quick Yeast/Active Yeast
Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa (2)

Spice Cabinet

2- ½ full bottles Syrup
½ bottle sugar free Syrup
2 ¾ “bears” of honey
¼ gallon soy sauce
1 box lipton tea bags
2 bottles Worcestershire sauce
1/3 bottle vegetable oil
½ can Kool-Aide
1/8 can Nesquik powder
4 Sugar free lemonade tubs
1 box Mocha Splenda packets
6 packs diet Swiss Miss
Mocha latte creations
White Sesame Seeds
1/3 bottle Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce
White vinegar
Flavacol (for popcorn machine)
Popcorn oil
Popcorn kernels
Lime juice
A1
Small package ground coffee
Large bag coffee beans
1 pack Hot and Spicy Shake N Bake
1 pack Ranch Dip Mix
Pizza packets (red pepper flakes etc)
2 packs Stroganoff mix
1 pack meatloaf mix
1 pack hollandaise sauce mix
Salt and salt substitute
Pepper
Season salt
Olive Oil (almost gone)
Nonstick spray (2)
Garlic Salt
Chicago steak seasoning
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Cinnamon
Cumin
Ground Red Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Mexican seasoning
Pumpkin pie seasoning
Paprika
Italian seasoning
Chili powder
Onion powder
Whole black peppercorns
Montreal Chicken seasoning
Pure Vanilla Extract
Pure Almond Extract
Nutmeg
Ground Mustard

What's everyone think? What staples should I add (other than the obvious fruits and veggies!)?

Menu Plan...uh Tuesday~ 5/12/09

2009-05-12T21:07:00.000-07:00

Better late then never! This is a 2 week menu plan because Jason left this morning and is gone for 2 weeks. I took almost a week off since my mom is also out of town and I had no one to take the girls to day care. So we're having a fun girls' week! And next week we'll be staying at my mom's a few nights. I'll be so happy when Jason is back and I can plan again!

I'm also planning on trying something my friend Elizabeth just did on her blog, a kitchen inventory. I want to take a full written inventory of everything that's in the pantry, freezer and fridge. Then I'm going to try and really cut my food budget for June and use up a lot of the stock we already have! Look for my inventory post later this week!

Saturday 5/9- Red Beans and Rice, Turkey Sausage, Broccoli

Sunday 5/10- Mother's Day! DH made steak and broccoli stirfry

Monday 5/11- Swedish Meatballs and Potatoes

Tuesday 5/12- Submachine (Takeout Sandwiches)

Wednesday 5/13- Going to the Aquarium...probably grab something on the way home or make a frozen pizza.

Thursday 5/14- Pigs in a Blanket

Friday 5/15- Going to the Zoo...probably eating with my sister.

Saturday 5/16- Quesadillas/Enchiladas, Beans

Sunday 5/17- BBQ at a friend's house

Monday 5/18- Mom's (probably Kogel hotdogs and chili sauce that my aunt brought us from Michigan!)

Tuesday 5/19- Mom's

Wednesday 5/20- Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Thursday 5/21- Homemade Pizza

Friday 5/22- Clean out the Fridge

Head over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 5/4/09

2009-05-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

This week is pretty basic but it's my next "real" menu plan for 2 weeks! DH leaves next week for a 2 week trip. Not much a menu plan when it's just me and the girls!

Last week we found a new family favorite recipe! Check out my previous post for the Stromboli recipe. You can also check out my new list of favorite recipes on my side bar!

Saturday 5/2- Date Night! Snacks at the Movie!

Sunday 5/3- Grilled Steak, Baked Potatoes, Corn

Monday 5/4: Chicken, Rice, Broccoli

Tuesday 5/5: Happy Cinco De Mayo! Stacked Burrito Pie

Wednesday 5/6: Eggs, Bacon, Biscuits/Gravy

Thursday 5/7: Frozen Pizza, Mac and Cheese (Mommy had a Bio Test...blah!)

Friday 5/8: Making Spaghetti (I'll post this "recipe" later!) at my Mom's.

Head over to Laura's for more menus!

New Stromboli Recipe!

2009-04-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

RecipeZaar has got to be my favorite recipe website. It's the first place I turn when I'm looking for a new recipe. And of all the recipes we've tried, I can't think of any that we haven't liked! I'm going to start a list of fave recipes on here but here's one to start!

I bought a roll of Hot Sausage last week to use as a topping for my personal pizza. I wanted to find a recipe to use the rest (well I still have a little left...) and I found this recipe for Stromboli and we made it tonight. It is definately a keeper! Everyone loved it. Super-picky, eats like a bird Hannah even ate her whole piece!

I made a few changes though. I've never used frozen bread dough so I followed the reviewer and used refrigerated. I was a bit worried because I thought it would roll out bigger but It turned out perfect (I wasn't even sure what stromboli was supposed to look like...LoL) I didn't have the individual spices so I substituted garlic salt and Italian seasoning. The toppings I used were browned hot sausage, turkey pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms and a little cheddar/moz cheese. It was so yummy! We'll definately make it again!

New Design!

2009-04-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

Now that Spring is here, I thought I'd get rid of my Winter layout. Thanks again to my friend, Elizabeth, for making me a great banner and siggy! Welcome to Spring Everyone!

Menu Plan Monday~ 4/27/09

2009-04-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

DH has been out of town so the girls and I were at my Mom's for most of last week. So no menu plan. DH gets homne today so I can actually make some of the meals we didn't get to weeks ago! (Thank your, Freezer!)

Saturday 4/25: Poppy Festival! (Fair food)

Sunday 4/26: At Mom's (again!)

Monday 4/27: Sandwiches, Leftover Mac and Cheese, Chips/Dip

Tuesday 4/28: Chicken Potpie

Wednesday 4/29: Steak Sandwiches with Mushrooms

Thursday 4/30: Stromboli (using pepperoni, cheese, spicy sausage, mushrooms, olives)

Friday 5/1: Tacos (This homemade seasoning is great! It's pretty peppery/spicy though so I added a little tomato sauce and it was perfect!)

Head over to Laura's for more menus!

5 Things I'm Thankful For!

2009-04-16T12:38:00.001-07:00

My wonderful friend, Elizabeth, posted on her blog today about 5 things she's thankful for. I thought that was a wonderful thing to do and wanted to remind myself of all the wonderful things in my life. Jason and I have had some ups and downs in the past few years and things are finally starting to look up for us. But right when we were getting ahead, I blew a hole in my motor in my car (well the motor blew a hole in itsself!). And you know what? We stayed positive. We were at a loss on what to do but we figured it out and the car is fixed! We used our house savings but we're still chugging along and determined to get that house!

Anyway, I want to post 5 things I'm thankful for today!

1. I have a husband who I can honestly say I'm completely myself with. In the past, I've changed for men in relationships. I've hid my likes and tried to only be interested in theirs. I haven't changed for Jason...I've changed because of him. I've learned a lot about myself and realized who I am and what I enjoy doing. We have different hobbies (trains for him, books for me) and we're ok with that. I'm not a big fan of his hobby (and he's not a big reader) but we respect our differences.

2. I have two little girls who really are good kids. I get frustrated with them but that's my own fault. They're actually very warm, loving, pretty well behaved kids. They make me want to be a better parent and really focus on enjoying time with them.

3. I love my job. It's not ultimately my career (well sorta...I don't want to be a secretary forever...but I plan on working as a nurse! LoL) choice but it's shown me that I made the right choice in going back to school to become an RN. With past jobs, I hated going to work every day. My bosses were awful and I hated my job. There was no respect and no positive feedback. At the hospital, the only reason I don't want to go in the morning is the drive! LoL My bosses, doctors and nurses tell me constantly that I'm great at my job. It's an amazing feeling. And it tells me that I'm going to be a great nurse!

4. I'm thankful that Jason and I have the same goals right now. It's not just one of us who wanted another baby or who's working to save for a house. We're in the same place which makes things much easier. We're partners, through and through.

5. I'm thankful that this school semester is half over! I over did it with classes I don't need and I'm so tired. Between going back to work FT and taking classes I don't want to take, it's very frustrating. It make take me longer to get my RN but I'm going to take one class a semester until I get into the program. And hopefully during the day. I can't stand having to go at night on the only day I have off with the kids! Only 2 more months left!

What are you thankful for today?

5 Things I'm Thankful For!

2009-04-16T12:38:00.000-07:00

Patience...

2009-04-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

I think I need to start working on some of my bad traits. I find that writing things down makes them easier to acheive (I'm a list maker...you should see my grocery list!). So the first thing I'm going to work on is Patience.

I find myself losing patience very quickly especially with Hannah. This morning I've yelled at her and sent her to her room for not getting dressed when I told her to. I think my view of time is so different from hers. She doesn't realize how long its taking and I really should give her more time. Yelling (me) and crying (her) are not a good way to start our morning. And really, I make them wait to get ready while I take my long shower in the morning. It's more my fault we're late!

So I'm going to work on being more patient (and along with that, not losing my temper over nothing!) especially with the girls.

How do you all learn more patience?

Time to Go from 4 to 5!

2009-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

DH and I finally decided to start trying for baby number 3! I am SO excited! We're officially trying now. I just finished my first cycle off the pill! Hannah was a surprise and Avery took 5 months of TTC. We're hoping it takes even less time this time!

I'm hoping for a boy...so send BLUE dust this way!

Finding My Way To Him!

2009-04-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

I was raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic school from 1st-8th grade. You would think that would have cemented my faith and kept me on the path to God. But for me, I found that the Catholic church wasn't the best fit. I believe in God and Jesus but I typically don't take the Bible so literally. I found myself being drawn more towards the Christian church once I entered highschool and chose not to be confirmed as a Catholic. After highschool, I fell away from religion in general and haven't been to church much since.

Now that my girls are getting closer to school age (Hannah at least), I decided I want them to experience school the way I did. I feel that I was better off and more stable in my beliefs and values because I went to a religious school. While I ended up not staying in the same religion, I was able to make that choice myself. I think a lot of people my age follow a certain religion because their parents did. Without really being immersed in religion, they can't really make the decision themselves. So I decided to send the girls to a Christian school. Making that choice has made me realize I need to start to practice for myself. I went to my sister's Chrisitian church yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It's too far for us to go on a regular basis but the church at the school the girls will be going into is not.

So we're going to start going to church when we can. I work every other weekend but there's no reason we can't go the weekends I'm home. I also want to do something for myself and join a bible study. I plan on going to school during the day in the Fall (I go at night now) so I should be able to join a group them.

I'm very excited about my choices and can't wait to become closer to God again!

Menu Plan Monday~ 4/13/09!

2009-04-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Ok seriously...someone needs to point me in the direction of some other daily blog posts. This is the only day I've posted 3 weeks in a row...I need something to post Tuesday-Sunday!

I am SO excited about the new Mexican recipes I've made lately! We normally only have tacos made with ground turkey and a packet of taco seasoning. That gets old after a while. So a few weeks ago I made Chicken Taquitos that turned out so yummy! And this past week, I decided to try to make a different version of tacos. I finely diced about half an onion (I'm trying to include onion more since I've been trying to eat more things I didn't "like" in the past.) and sauted it with some garlic. I added 3/4 lb of ground turkey and then added this seasoning (about 1/2 of what it makes). I tasted it and it was a bit too spicy and peppery. I remembered I had some tomato sauce frozen in the freezer. I broke off a few chunks and mix it in. It turned out perfect! I then fried it in tortillas with a little cheese.

Both were so good but I don't like to fry things. So I'm going to try baking both of them next time to try and get the tortillas crispy. If that doesn't work, they'll just be a treat every once and a while!

And now on to this week!

Saturday 4/11- Steak and Mushroom Fajitas, Watermelon

Sunday 4/12- Easter at Mom's! Ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Mac and Cheese etc. I brought 2 homemade Pecan Pies (I'll post the recipe later this week when I get the link to work!).

Monday 4/13- Easter Leftovers!

Tuesday 4/14- Steak Sandwiches (cube steak, cheese, mushrooms, pizza sauce), Fruit

Wednesday 4/15- Turkey Bacon BLTs, Fruit

Thursday 4/16- Spaghetti with Meatballs, Salad

Friday 4/17- Pizza Pockets, Salad

Head on over the OrgJunkie for more weekly menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 04/06/09

2009-04-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

One of these days, I'll actually start posting something other than MPM! :) At least I post these...LoL

The Broccoli and Cheese Soup from last week's menu turned out really good! I added minced garlic to the onions while they sauted and used about 1/3 of a small package of velveeta. Even Hannah (the super picky, no veggie eater) liked it. Avery LOVED it. DH was impressed and he's really into Broccoli and Cheese soup lately. The only downside was that it didn't reheat well. I think that might be the Velveeta. I'd still make it again though!

This week I only spent $28.01 on groceries! I tried to make a plan based on mostly what we already had on hand. It doesn't hurt that we just made our monthly Costco trip and have most of our meat for about 2-3 months!

Saturday 4/4: Grilled Steak, Mushrooms, Corn on the Cob, Salad
Sunday 4/5: BBQ at Mom's
Monday 4/6: Shake N Bake Chicken, Rice, Asparagus
Tuesday 4/7: Tacos, Black Beans, Chips/Salsa
Wednesday 4/8: Passover at Dad's
Thursday 4/9: Pizza Pockets, Salad, Fruit
Friday 4/10: Spaghetti with Meatballs, Bread, Salad

Check out OrgJunkie for more Menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 3/30/09

2009-03-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's almost April?!? This year is flying by...I'm thankful for the warmer weather though! Time to break out the grill this week. We've been really light on the veggies lately so I'm trying to make the effort to include more. We're going to start trying for baby #3 in a few weeks and I need to focus on eating healthy (and hopefully losing a few more pounds before I actually get pregnant!). So I'm going to really start looking at what we're eating and keep the junk out of the house!

Saturday 3/28: BLTs, Fruit, Popcorn (Movie Night!)
Sunday 3/29: BBQ Chicken, Baked Beans, Corn
Monday 3/30: Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Green Beans
Tuesday 3/31: Eggs, Turkey Bacon, Biscuits/Gravy
Wednesday 4/1: Ham, Stuffing, Asparagus
Thursday 4/2: Broccoli/Cheese Soup, Bread, Salad
Friday 4/3: Frozen Pizza, Velveeta, Fruit

DH has been really into Broccoli Cheese soup lately so I decided to try and make it at home for him. I tried a Potato soup recipe a few month back and it turned out awesome (we've had it many times since!). So I went to the same website (RecipeZaar) to get the new recipe. It has 5 stars with 100 reviews so I'm hoping it's good! I'll post the recipe once we try it!

I could use some help with quick "Movie Night" dinners. I typically grocery shop Saturdays and I work every other weekend (so I shop on the way home). We do "Movie Night" every Saturday so I like to make something fast and simple (sandwiches etc). I want to limit ordering pizza or whatever to once a month. Does anyone have any fun ideas for "Movie Night" dinners? BTW, I bought DH a popcorn machine for Christmas so we have to save room for theater style popcorn! LoL

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Menu Plan...Err...Tuesday? 3/24/09

2009-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

DH and I had an extra day off this week and it threw my schedule off! I didn't even notice I had missed MPM until today! :) Oops!

I'm really trying to stay on track because our budget got out of control earlier this month when we ate out too much! We were out of town for a few weeks and our fridge was cleaned out. I finally went shopping and spent $90 instead of my usual $60. Now we're stocked up on everything but meat (Costco run on Friday!) so we should be ok now! :)

Now that I'm working FT, I've moved my grocery shopping day from Wednesday to Saturday. That means my menus now run Saturday-Friday.

Here's this week's menu!

Saturday 3/21: Steak/Mushroom Fajitas, Refried Beans
Sunday 3/22: Take Out at California Adventure!
Monday 3/23: Chili, FF Cornbread
Tuesday 3/24: Chicken Parmigiana, Pasta
Wednesday 3/25: Baked Potato Bar (Toppings: Chili, Cheese, Light Sour Cream, Broccoli)
Thurday 3/26: Chicken Taquitos, Refried Beans, Spanish Rice (Still searching for a recipe!)
Friday 3/27: Chili Dogs, Chips, Fruit

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 03/01/09

2009-03-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back! I've still been doing my menu plans but I feel like I stick to them so much better when I post them on here! We only have half a week here since we're headed to the snow for the weekend. :)

DH made dinner completely on his own this weekend! Yesterday was pretty simple (sauce and meatballs in the crockpot) but today he tried to re-create a meal from a Mexican place we liked. It was the Steak and Mushroom fajitas from On the Border. We were craving them a few weeks ago and went to go to dinner and they had closed down! (The recession kills another business!) DH marinated cubed up steak in the following:

Ground chili pepper, garlic, cumin, paprika, soy sauce, worscheter sauce, EVOO, and a bit of Frank's Red Hot

He grilled it on the griddle with some sliced mushrooms and onions and some cheese on top. We had it with corn tortillas and sour cream. It was AWESOME! Not something we'll have often because steak is expensive but it's a great treat!

Now onto the full plan.

Saturday 2/28- Meatball Subs, Salad
Sunday 3/1- Steak/Mushroom Fajitas,Black Beans
Monday 3/2- Chicken/Mushrooms, Rice Pilaf, Asparagus
Tuesday 3/3- Italian Chicken, Spaghetti, Broccoli/Cauliflower
Wednesday 3/4- Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
Thursday 3/5- Clean Out The Fridge
Friday 3/6- Mammoth!

See ya all next week! Head on over to Laura's for more great menus!!

Change Your Thinking

2009-02-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

It's been about a month sinc eI last posted and I thought I'd get back on track with this. My mom sent me this story today which really amazed me. I hope it touches you as well.

Change Your Thinking

It will take just a minute to read this and change your thinking.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.

Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present.'

I pray you will forward it to all your friends to whom you wish God's blessings.

Picture Tag

2009-01-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

Ok so I wasn't actually tagged for this one but it looked like fun! Thanks Kylee!

Here are the rules:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.

3) Explain the picture.

4) Tag 4 people to do the same.

Ok so I kinda fudged on this one because technically the 4th folder is something called iPod Photo Cashe and there's nothing in it but more folders! LoL So I skipped to the next folder!

This is a picture Jason took on the way home from work in December (about 2 weeks before Christmas). We live in SoCal where it NEVER snows...(or at least not enough to stick). Well it snowed for an entire day and REALLY stuck! Jason actually got snowed in at work because they closed the freeway. The girls and I spent all day watching and playing in the snow! We even had a little patch in our front yard left until Christmas day...that's a SoCal White Christmas!

I'm going to tag:

1. Elizabeth

2. Taryn

And two others I will decide after nap time! LoL

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/12/09

2009-01-12T14:02:00.001-08:00

DH is working late every night again so I'm continuing to make dinners that he can take for leftovers the next day. That keeps me making dinner even though he's not home instead of resorting to take out or sandwiches every night!

I'm trying a bunch of new recipes this week and will post them as well as reviews once I make them!

Monday 1/12: Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms, Rice, Corn
Tuesday 1/13: Broccoli and Cheese Pasta (Rachel Ray Mag?), Fruit
Wednesday 1/14: Turkey Meatball Subs, Green Beans
Thursday 1/15: Pizza Pockets (didn't get to last week), Salad
Friday 1/16: Chicken Stirfry, Rice
Saturday 1/17: BLTs, Homemade Chicken Soup
Sunday 1/18: Hotdogs, Chips/Carrots/Dip
Monday 1/19: Frito Pie, Green Beans
Tuesday 1/20: Frozen Pizza, Buffalo Popcorn Chicken

Head to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-01-05T16:50:00.000-08:00

Read other daybooks at Simple Woman.

For Today: January 5, 2009

Outside my window... It's freezing! Well at least for SoCal...cold enough to turn on the heater and fireplace as soon as we walked in the door!

I am thinking... About what needs to be done tonight. Definitely need to write the grocery list for tomorrow…probably not much more than that!

I am thankful for... My little girls. It was so nice to see how excited they were when I picked them up from daycare today.

From the kitchen... We just had a snack of crackers and cheese to tide us over until dinner. I’m making tacos tonight and using my nifty new chopper to mince carrots to put in the meat. They’ll never know!!

I am wearing... My scrubs and a sweatshirt. I haven’t changed from work yet.

I am going... nowhere tonight. We’ll be going grocery shopping first thing in the morning though because we’re out of juice and milk!

I am reading... Eclipse (Twilight Series) for the 2nd time. A friend of mine said she’s reading them much slower this time around and I agree. It’s taking a lot longer to read this time but I still love it. I’ll be on to Breaking Dawn tonight or tomorrow. Afterwards, I think I’ll re-read the Eragon series again!

I am hoping... They post the jobs for the new local hospital soon. I want to work FT close to home SO badly!

I am creating... Nothing…I’d like to start writing again soon.

I am hearing... Dragon Tales on TV. The girls and I have had a LONG day (I was up at 4:15 to get them ready for daycare…ugh!) and we’re relaxing before dinner.

Around the house... Is a TON of junk. The house seems to be so messy lately. Probably because we had a week off and stayed home most of the time. I’m ready to do a deep clean tomorrow!

One of my favorite things... Relaxing in the bathroom with the shower running while reading a good book. I know it’s a total waste of water but it’s something that’s been my favorite thing to do since I was a kid. The sound/steam etc is so relaxing!

A few plans for the rest of the week... I’m off until Friday so we’re grocery shopping and cleaning. Our cracked window is being replaced Wednesday. Hannah and I decided to have a picnic lunch in the living room one day since it’s too cold to go outside much.

Menu Plan Monday! 1/5/09

2009-01-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

I've been SO bad with menu planning lately (as you can tell from the lack of posts...). I've actually still been doing them since my last MPM...actaully sticking to them has been another story. We've eaten out WAY more that I'd care to say lately and it's time to get back on track.

DH got a new wok and I got a new crockpot for Christmas so I'm trying to use each of them once a week. DH has also decided to try and cut out all red meat and pork products as much as possible. He's hoping it will help his cholesterol as well as spur some weight loss. Fortunately, we used ground turkey in place of ground beef already and rarely have anything other than that and chicken breasts at home. We do have leftover ham in the freezer from Christmas to use up this week though!

Monday 1/5: Tacos
Tuesday 1/6: Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Wednesday 1/7: Chicken Parm, Pasta, Salad
Thursday 1/8: Shrimp Chow Mein
Friday 1/9: Ham, Stuffing, Asparagus
Saturday 1/10: Pizza Pockets, Salad
Sunday 1/11: Veggie Omlettes, Biscuits/Gravy
Monday 1/12: Crockpot Chicken and Mushrooms, Rice, Salad

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menus!

SNOW!! In Palmdale!!!

2008-12-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

It snowed the entire day yesterday! I think we got somewhere between 9-12 inches! I've lived in this house for about 29 years of my life and I think I only remember it snowing twice. And neither of those times were this much! Unfortunately, that meant the freeway was closed and Jason wasn't able to get home from work. He stayed at my mom's and is on his way home early from work now. I got an extra day (maybe two if they don't keep the freeway open) off work so we're relaxing at home! I am so excited that we're having a bit of a "White Christmas" even though the snow will be long gone by next week.

Here's to snow in SoCal! Woohoo! I'll add pics once Jason gets home. The camera was in his car....of course!

New Layout!

2008-12-16T10:35:00.001-08:00

Now that winter is upon us, I thought my blog needed a little update. Thanks to Elizabeth for making me a wonderful new banner and siggy! Such a wonderful friend!

Happy Winter All!

Menu Plan Monday~ 12/14/08

2008-12-14T22:22:00.000-08:00

I missed MPM last week! I did a menu plan (how could I grocery shop without one?) and we sorta followed it but I never posted it. We haven't stuck to a menu plan completely in a while and things are going to be so hectic until Christmas, I'm sure we won't stick to one until the New Year!

DH is going to be SWAMPED from now until Christmas in order to get shipment of race cars out by Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, that means he'll be working 10-12 hour days from tomorrow until the 24th, including the weekend! Not very good for my menu planning (the extra money rocks though! LoL). So I'm trying to stick to simple meals or meals that reheat easily for when DH gets home (or to take as leftovers the next day).

We're also going to be baking this week (and next). Kinda just for the heck of it. I'll take some to work because the busy folks in the ER sure like cookies! The stuff we make next week will be for Christmas day and to take to Hannukah at my dad's as gifts to my step-brothers families. We're making the basic sugar cookies etc. but also going to buy a candy themometer to make fudge from scratch! My mom always made it growing up and it was never creamy, always crumbly (but SO good). We'll see how I fare! I'll post the recipe next week and let you know if mine turned out!

Sunday 12/14: Chicken Potpie
Monday 12/15: Breakfast Bake
Tuesday 12/16: Chili (Freezer), Cornbread
Wednesday 12/17: Crockpot Roast, Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy
Thursday 12/18: Roast Beef Sandwiches
Friday 12/19: Grilled Cheese, Soup
Saturday 12/20: Take Out
Sunday 12/21: Chicken Parm, Spaghetti
Monday 12/22: Hotdogs, Chips, Fruit

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more menu plans!!

MPM~ 12/1/08

2008-11-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

We're officially in the Christmas season! I'm ready for baking cookies and other treats! Yummy! I have Finals coming up soon though so most of my baking won't start until next week. I do want to try making Cinnamon Quick Bread. I can't remember which blog I got it from so sorry for not giving whomever you are credit!

We didn't use all of our meals last week (again) so there was some roll over. Hopefully we can stick to plan this week!

Monday 12/1- Shake N Bake Chicken, Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday 12/2- Leftovers/Daddy Cooks (Stats Test)
Wednesday 12/3- Homemade Pizza, Salad
Thursday 12/4- Turkey Sausage, Red Beans and Rice, Broccoli
Friday 12/5- Tacos, Chips/Salsa
Saturday 12/6- Chicken PotPie
Sunday 12/7- Out to Dinner (Date Night!)

One of those meals will probably be scratched because we're trying to plan something with my Dad. :)

Check out Laura's for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/24/08

2008-11-24T20:35:00.000-08:00

Not much of a plan this week! We didn't eat a few meals from last week which moved to this week. We'll also have a lot of leftovers from Thanksgiving! Plus my FIL and his wife are coming into town for the night this weekend and are taking us out to dinner. (SEAFOOD! YAY!) At least this week's plan will help with our budget since there isn't much to buy. I have a TON of household stuff to buy so it helps to have that extra leftover from our grocery budget to use!

Monday 11/24: Pizza (friend over)
Tuesday 11/25: Chicken Potpie (didn’t get to last week)
Wednesday 11/26: Hotdogs, Tatertots, Corn (didn’t get to last week)
Thursday 11/27: Thankgiving! (Making the stuffing and asparagus with hollandaise!)
Friday 11/28: Turkey Day Leftovers!
Saturday 11/29: Out to Dinner (In-Laws in town.)
Sunday 11/30: Shake N Bake Chicken, Rice, Broccoli
Monday 12/1: Turkey Sausage, Red Beans and Rice, Broccoli
Tuesday 12/2: Leftovers

Check out Laura's for other Thanksgiving week plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/17/08

2008-11-18T19:22:00.001-08:00

Late again this week but at least it's here! :) We're rather tight on money for the next few weeks so I'm trying to keep the budget down. A lot of the meals this week are coming from what we already have on hand. The produce is a bit pricey this week but well worth it for the Chicken Stirfry and Fried Rice!

We didn't have hotdogs on Hannah's b-day last week because we had leftovers from lunch. The Chicken Potpie turned out AWESOME and DH requested it again this week.

I want to bake this week also but I'm not sure what I want to make yet. Maybe oatmeal cookies?

Tuesday 11/18: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Wednesday 11/19: Crockpot Potato Soup, Sourdough Bread
Thursday 11/20: Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Friday 11/21: Garlic Chicken Stirfry, Veggie Fried Rice
Saturday 11/22: Chicken Potpie, Salad
Sunday 11/23: Take Out (Garage Sale/Christmas Decorating!)
Monday 11/24: Hotdogs, Tatertots, Salad
Tuesday 11/25: Leftovers

As always, check out Laura's for more menu plans!

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/10/08

2008-11-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

We're doing quicker meals this week. I have a Chem test on Friday (I thought it was last week but it's this week) that I REALLY need to study for so I'll be spending time on that instead of cooking as much as I did last week. However, the Homemade Graham Crackers were AWESOME and I'll be making them again tomorrow!

Hannah's 3rd Birthday is on Sunday and we're going to Chuck E Cheese for lunch so I'm not sure if we'll be eating dinner or not. I just planned something fast that I know she'll eat. We'll probably have leftover cake from lunch too!

Monday 11/10: Nachos
Tuesday 11/11: Chicken Pot Pie, Salad
Wednesday 11/12: Leftover Spaghetti Pie, Salad, Bread
Thursday 11/13: Chili, Cornbread
Friday 11/14: Take Out (Chem Test)
Saturday 11/15: Spaghetti, Salad, Bread
Sunday 11/16: Hannah’s Birthday! Hotdogs/Corndogs, Tatertots, Fruit
Monday 11/17: Chicken Parmesan, Salad, Bread
Tuesday 11/18: Leftovers

For more menu plans, head on over to Laura's!

Simple Woman's Daybook~ Week 1

2008-11-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

Visit The Simple Woman for other Daybooks!

For Today...November 3rd

Outside my Window...it is dark and cool. Fall weather is finally here and we’re relaxing after the girls have gone to bed.

I am thinking...how nervous I am about my interview on Wednesday! This is an AMAZING opportunity for us and I so hope it works out.

I am thankful for…being able to stay home with my girls as much as I have in the past 2 years. I may be working FT again soon and I’ll really miss spending so much time with them!

From the kitchen...I didn’t get to cook today…I worked and then we got home late. But I’m off for the next 3 days and we’ll be baking Breakfast Cookies, Graham Crackers AND Vanilla Almond Biscotti! YUMMY!

I am wearing...My Atlanta Thrashers sweatshirt! Relaxing after a long work day!

I am reading...I just finished Eragon. Amazing that a 15 year old wrote that! I’m hoping to buy the next two tomorrow as they are really hard to get at the library…

I am hoping...I am able to get the job on Wednesday. It would be nice to be closer to home and finally get ahead with money.

I am hearing...Jason playing a video game on the new TV his mom bought us as an early Christmas present!

Around the house...We have a ton of cleaning to do! The house is a mess and Nana is coming over to watch the girls on Wednesday!

One of my favorite things...Is seeing Avery’s face light up as she toddles over to me when I come to pick her up after work. It makes my day to see how much she loves Mommy!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…Busy day tomorrow…trying to vote as soon as the polls open in the AM and then Hannah has class. After that I have a Statistics test to finish and grocery shopping to do. Whew! Then my interview and class on Wednesday…Thursday will be a day at home!!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
Isn't she the cutest little Ducky you've ever seen? I can't believe she's a toddler now! I don't have any more babies at home... :(

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/03/08

2008-11-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

We're trying some new recipes this week! I haven't tried anything new lately so I'm actually excited. Hopefully it won't put us too over budget though. I may also bake something this week. Not sure what yet this week but maybe Breakfast Cookies or Homemade Graham Crackers. Maybe even Vanilla Almond Biscotti!

Jason has joined me on WW and I'm going to start adding WW points to our menus next week. I may update later for this week's points as well.

Monday 11/3: Steak Ums Sandwiches, Salad
Tuesday 11/4: Leftovers
Wednesday 11/5: Breakfast Bake, Fruit
Thursday 11/6: Pizza Pockets, Spinach/Artichoke Dip/Chips
Friday 11/7: Take Out (Chem Test)
Saturday 11/8: Beef Stroganoff, Salad, Bread
Sunday 11/9: Leftover Spaghetti Pie, Salad, Bread
Monday 11/10: Nachos
Tuesday 11/11: Chicken Pot Pie, Salad

Check out OrgJunkie for more great menus!

Better Late Than Never! MPM 10/27/08

2008-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit under the weather this past week and SO tired! I just realized part of the tiredness has been caffeine withdrawl. No coffee for 5 days does not work for me! Anyway, I *did* do my menu plan for the week. I just was too lazy to post it! So here it is! And now I have to get started on NEXT week's! LoL

Monday 10/27: Subway Sandwiches
Tuesday 10/28: Pizza
Wednesday 10/29: Shake N Bake Chicken, Broccoli, Rice
Thursday 10/30: Ham, stuffing, broccoli
Friday 10/31: Halloween/Birthday Party!
Saturday 11/1: Spaghetti w/ Chicken Meatballs, Salad, Bread
Sunday 11/2: Bunless Turkey Mushroom Burgers, Corn, Baked Potatoes

Head on over to Laura's for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/20/08

2008-10-19T20:41:00.001-07:00

Finally back to a full menu plan! Between DH being gone for two weeks and our Atlanta vacation, we haven't had an actual menu plan in 3 weeks! I'm so happy to be back cooking!

Next Sunday DH is going to join WW with me. Up until now, I've tried to eat low point breakfasts and lunches so I have a lot of points at night to eat a "normal" dinner. Well I don't think DH will have that much control at work so I'm going to have to really look at our portion sizes and make our dinners lower points. Hopefully I can take some time this week to calculate point values for some of our go to meals.

We already had our Sunday dinner and I made my first ever pizza crust! I have the recipe on another computer but I'll have to post it soon! It turned out so yummy! I'll definately make it again. Way better (and healthier!) than the Pillsbury kind!

Sunday 10/19: Homemade Pizza, Chips/Guacamole
Monday 10/20: Turkey Burgers (With Swiss Cheese and Turkey Bacon), Salad, Fries
Tuesday 10/21: Shake N Bake Chicken, Broccoli, Mashed Potatoes
Wednesday 10/22: Chicken Tacos (Leftover Enchilada Chicken from freezer), Chips/Guacamole
Thursday 10/23: Garlic Chicken Stir Fry, Veggie Fried Rice
Friday 10/24: Breakfast For Dinner
Saturday 10/25: Friend's Birthday Party!

Head on over to OrgJunkie for more great menus!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee.

2008-10-01T13:09:00.001-07:00

My mom sent me this in an e-mail and it really made me think! We do spend too much time sweating the small stuff!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee.

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.T

he professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more i f the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the e ntire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else--the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important t o you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

'One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked.It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/29/08~

2008-09-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

This is a really blah menu plan this week! LoL DH is out of town and we're joining him in Atlanta on Saturday. So I have less than a week to get the girls and I packed for the trip. I've been on airplanes plenty of times but never with the kids especially by myself! We're taking a midnight flight and I'm so hoping they'll sleep! If not, I'm going to have a problem with A-babe. Hannah I can distract easily (bought some new cheap toys for the trip) but I'm concerned about how to keep a 1 year old occupied for 4 hours...Any tips?

Today is also Avery's 1st birthday! We're doing a fun recipe tonight just to do something special since her party was last weekend.

There won't be a menu plan next week because we're in Atlanta from Saturday-Saturday. No cooking for me! I'm trying not to have to go grocery shopping this week so nothing will go bad but I probably have to get a few things.

Monday 9/29: Mummy Dogs, Mac & Cheese, Carrots/Dip (Probably get cupcakes for dessert.)
Tuesday 9/30: Frozen Pizza, Fruit, Carrots/Dip
Wednesday 10/1: Leftovers/Clean Out the Fridge!
Thursday 10/1: At Nana's
Friday 10/2: Takeout on way home from Nana's
Saturday 10/3: More leftovers (if any left) or takeout before we leave for Airport!

Have a great week everyone!

~~Happy Birthday Avery~~

2008-09-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Avery-baby is 1 today! It's gone by so fast and I can't believe she's pretty much a toddler now! She is such an amazing gift and I don't know what I'd do without her. I know they say parents aren't supposed to have favorites but we all know that's just not the case. There's always one child you connect with more. And for me, that's Avery! I love Hannah more than anything but there's just something about A-babe that meshes with me.

So Happy Birthday Princess Pie! I can't wait to watch you grow more and more!

Avery One Year Ago

Avery Today!

Fun Recipe!

2008-09-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

I planned quick, kid-friendly meals at the end of this week because Jason is going to Atlanta for a race. Monday I planned hotdogs and mac & cheese. I felt bad because it's Avery's birthday and that's a pretty basic meal. (Not that she cares but still! LoL) We're not having cake or anything since we did that at her party last week. So I remembered a recipe I wanted to try before Halloween (which is Hannah's favorite holiday).

So we'll be making Crescent Mummy Dogs! They're not the healthiest things but I'm used reduced fat crescents and 2% cheese so they won't be too bad. At least they'll be fun!

Here's what they're supposed to look like. I'll post a pic of ours on Monday!

New Look!

2008-09-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Elizabeth, I have a wonderful new look! Fall is my favorite season and now my blog shows that. The layout is from a cool website, The Cutest Blog on the Block and Elizabeth made me a matching banner.

Now that my blog looks great, I need to post more to get some readers! I'd like the do more daily posts like MPM. What are everyone's favorites?

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/22/08

2008-09-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

It's a special edition of MPM this week! We're all posting some of out family's favorite meals/recipes! Unfortunately for me, DH leaves again on Saturday for Atlanta and since I plan Wed-Tues there aren't many days to plan! We are having a couple favorites though! And next week, we'll be taking a bit of a break because the girls and I will be heading to Atlanta to meet up with DH! :)

Avery's birthday party was yesterday and we had a blast. I'm going to upload pics tomorrow afternoon so check back!

Sunday 9/21: Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Corn
Monday 9/22: Tacos, Chips/Guacamole
Tuesday 9/23: Crockpot Potato Chowder, Cornbread
Wednesday 9/24: Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Thursday 9/25: Shake N Bake Chicken, Broccoli, Noodles
Friday 9/26: Take Out with DH!
Saturday 9/27: Staying at Nana’s!
Sunday 9/28: Pizza Pockets, Apples, Carrots/Dip
Monday 9/29: Hot dogs, Mac & Cheese, Fruit/Veggies
Tuesday 9/30: Frozen Pizza, Fruit

The Crockpot Potato Chowder has become a major staple at this house since I found the recipe a few months ago. It is absolutely wonderful and so easy to make!

We also LOVE the Pizza Pockets. I make a bunch at a time and stick them in the freezer so we always have them on hand for a quick meal. We don't put much sauce inside so we heat some up as a dip. Less messy for the baby (no dip for her!).

My meatloaf and swedish meatballs are a hit here too. I cheat though because both are seasoning packets! LoL We use ground turkey and the swedish meatballs go over mashed potatoes instead of noodles. Yum!

I also tried my hand at making guacamole for the first time the other day and it turned out GREAT! All I did was mash up 1 avocado, 1/4 cup diced onion, 3/4 diced jalepeno, salt, minced garlic (a lot for us garlic fanatics), and a squirt of bottled lime juice. It was so yummy with chips. I'm making it again Tuesday with our tacos!

Hope you enjoy some of these recipes! Have a great week!

Check out Laura's for more Family Favorites!

Menu Plan Monday~ 09/15/08

2008-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post since I'm at work! I'll be doing some recipe reviews tonight on another post so check back! DH is out of town until Wednesday so it's just me and the kids Mon/Tues.

Monday 9/15: TV Dinners, Fruit
Tuesday 9/16: Breakfast for Dinner
Wednesday 9/17: Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Thursday 9/18: Red Beans/Rice, Turkey Sausage, Broccoli
Friday 9/19: Chicken Parmigiagna, Pasta, Bread, Salad
Saturday 9/20: Avery's 1st Birthday Party!! (BBQ)
Sunday 9/21: Crockpot Potato Chowder, Cornbread Muffins
Monday 9/22: Tacos
Tuesday 9/23: Leftovers

Check out Laura's for more menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ 09/08/08

2008-09-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

It's just me and the girls for the next 10 days while DH is on a work trip. I'm also getting a little break Tuesday and Wednesday since I have class at night. The girls will be staying at Nana's house! :) The menu is super simple since I don't want to make a lot for me and the girls. We're also staying at my mom's this weekend so I'm cooking a meal there.

Monday 9/8: Grilled Cheese, Top Ramen with Egg
Tuesday 9/9: Subway for me!
Wednesday 9/10: Panera for me!
Thursday 9/11: "Pizzadillas", Mac & Cheese, Chip/Carrots with Dip
Friday 9/12: Swedish Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Saturday 9/13: Takeout at Mom's
Sunday 9/14: Breakfast for Dinner (Waffles, Eggs, Turkey Sausage)

Head to Laura's for more menu plans!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-09-02T09:24:00.001-07:00

Today Jason and I have been together for 5 years and married for 2! I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband! We've had a lot of challenges in the past few years and I know our relationship is stronger for it.

I love you, Jason! Happy Anniversary!

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/1/08

2008-08-31T19:14:00.000-07:00

Happy September! I'm so happy that Fall is right around the corner! I absolutely LOVE Fall and can't wait to start pulling out my Fall decor! Not to mention I can start making hearty meals without them feeling so heavy! (Like the Easiest Chicken and Biscuits I reviewed a few weeks ago.)

I want to review two receipes that I made the past week or so that were amazing! The first were Apple Pie Muffins. They were SO yummy! Jason is a Type 2 diabetic so I'm always trying to cut sugar out of recipes. I made this with Splenda Brown Sugar blend (even for the topping) and they were perfect. There probably wasn't as much topping as there would be with regular brown sugar (you only use half the amount when using the Splenda blend) but it was fine for us. It made about 24 muffins so I froze half. I took them out this week and the defrosted great. They tasted like they'd never been frozen. They make a great breakfast or even dessert!

The other recipe I was so glad I tried was the Pizza Pockets I made last night. I am starting to really enjoy making things from scratch so the dough was fun to make. I've never made a dough like that before and was really excited that it turned out well! It took a few tries to figure out the right amount of toppings to put in and still be able to seal them but they all stayed closed! :) We added turkey pepperoni, pizza sauce, lowfat mozzarella, black olives and mushrooms (plus onions for the hubby). I think they're actually pretty healthy. We had them with a salad and were very satisfied. I froze 6 of them to have for lunches and a dinner this coming week! I was very impressed with these and will definately be making them again and again!

Onto this week's plan! I'm trying to make this a really good week because Jason leaves for another week next Monday. There won't be much of a plan that week!

Monday 9/1- Veggie Fried Rice, Garlic Chicken Stir fry (Made by Hubby!)
Tuesday 9/2- Leftovers
Wednesday 9/3- Spinach Lasagna, Salad, Garlic toast
Thursday 9/4- Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas, Chips/Salsa
Friday 9/5- Pizza Pockets (from freezer), Mac & Cheese, Veggies/Dip
Saturday 9/6- Ham, Stuffing, Broccoli, Salad
Sunday 9/7- Turkey Mushroom Burgers, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cob
Monday 9/8- DH out of town- Grilled Cheese, Top Ramen with egg
Tuesday 9/9- ?? Nana and Aunt Nessa watching kiddos!

Head on over to Laura's for more menu plans!

Art Project of the Day~8/27/08

2008-08-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

I decided I'm going to try and do a new art project with Hannah (and Avery once she's old enough) at least once, hopefully twice a week. I'll post the project and pictures here on my blog! We don't do enough together (they normally play on their own) and now that I have a cleaning schedule down (I'll post that later!) I have a lot more time to spend with them!

So here's today's project: Lunch Bag Puppets!

Hannah's making a dog: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagdog.htm

I'm making a cat: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagcat.htm

I'll update with pics once we're done!

Menu Plan Monday~ August 25th!

2008-08-24T19:34:00.000-07:00

I start school again Tuesday and will be going 2 (sometimes 3) nights a week so those dinners need to be fast! I'm also having problems with my wisdom teeth (well the spot where one was removed last month) all of the sudden and am going to try and go to the dentist tomorrow. This might put a damper on the first few meals this week. At least for me...we'll play it by ear!

I've also started a "Healthy Living" blog so check that out as well. See my last post for the link!

I'll be review some recipes later this week as we've been trying more. The Apple Pie Muffins were awesome and a great way to use of apples that were getting mealy. But more on that another day!

Monday 8/25- BLTs, carrots/chips/dip, fruit
Tuesday 8/26: Leftovers
Wednesday 8/27: Garlic Shrimp Alfredo, salad, bread
Thursday 8/28: Swedish Meatballs, Egg noodles, Salad
Friday 8/29: Chili dogs, tater tots, salad
Saturday 8/30: Pizza Pockets, salad
Sunday 8/31: Out to Dinner for Jason’s Birthday
Monday 9/1: Jason’s Making Chinese! Veggie Fried Rice and Garlic Chicken
Tuesday: Leftovers

Head on over to Laura's for more menu plans!

New Healthy Living Blog!

2008-08-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to create a blog strictly for my journey to healthier living. I finally bit the bullet and started one today! Check it out if you'd like! Road to a Healthy Me!

Weekly Cleaning List

2008-08-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows Jason and I, knows that cleaning has never been a strong point for us. We're both pack rats and tend to have a lot of clutter. In the past year or so, I've started getting really irritated with junk and having stuff lying around. I've gotten pretty good at de-cluttering and have started getting rid of a lot of stuff. Most of the time the house is pretty neat though very lived in. (I'm not sure what else to expect with two little girls who can't really clean up after themselves!) However, while I'm being good about getting toys up off the floor before bedtime and stuff, major cleaning tasks get overlooked (bathrooms, mopping etc). I'm working PT and going back to school and I just get overwhelmed with all of the stuff I have to do.

Jason admits he just doesn't know how to clean. He sees the living room a mess or a sink of dished and for some reason, the thought that he should clean it just doesn't occur to him. That means I get left to either do it myself or nag him constantly. That obviously does not create a very happy husband and wife team!

So I've decided to impliment a Weekly Cleaning List. Both Jason and I have assigned jobs each day. The amount of work decided by who has what else scheduled that day (i.e. I go to school Tues and Wed nights so Jason gets the kitchen those days.). I still handle a heavier load but I'm home more days of the week. Other "big chores" (cleaning out the garage, major yardwork etc) will be added on a weekly basis. And if for some reason one of the chores can't be done, something else has to be done in it's place. For example, I was out of gas for the lawn mower this morning so I did a major cleaning of the dog area in the backyard instead.

Here is my Weekly Cleaning List: (Please let me know if you see something not on there that probably should be!)

Weekly Cleaning Schedule

Monday
S- Kitchen, Vacuum
J- P/U Computer room

Tuesday
S- Laundry, bathrooms, trash, vacuum
J- Kitchen, cat litter, trash

Wednesday
S- Grocery shopping, laundry, kids' rooms, vacuum upstairs
J- Kitchen, vacuum

Thursday
S- Kitchen, sweep, mow lawn
J- Vacuum

Friday
S- Kitchen, Master bedroom
J- Master Bedroom

Saturday
S- Dust, Clean Glass, Vacuum
J- Kitchen, laundry

Sunday
S- Kitchen, sweep/mop
J- Vacuum upstairs

Every Night
De-clutter: Pick up trash, toys, clothes, shoes etc and put in proper places.

Menu Plan Monday~ 08/18/08

2008-08-17T18:43:00.000-07:00

Another menu plan with just a quick post! Hannah is at Nana's for the next 3 days going to Disneyland so DH and I are alone with just Avery! :) She'll be in bed early and we'll have some much needed relaxing time alone...

The grocery bill last week was a lot higher than I'd like and we didn't end up making all of the meals on last weeks menu. So I pushed those back to this week and am making a majority of the meals from what we currently have in the fridge/pantry. Hopefully I'll only need to get the basics (milk, juice) and produce for the salads we've been having with dinner lately. A $40 trip would be great!

Onto this weeks menu:

Monday 8/18- Leftovers
Tuesday 8/19- Crockpot Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Carrots, Salad
Wednesday 8/20- Roast Beef Hash, salad
Thursday 8/21- Turkey Mushroom Burgers with Homemade Buns, Salad, Fruit
Friday 8/22- Taco Salad (Homemade Taco Seasoning)
Saturday 8/23- Red Beans/Rice, Turkey Sausage, Broccoli
Sunday 8/24- Spaghetti, salad
Monday 8/25- BLTs, carrots/dip, fruit
Tuesday 8/26- Leftovers

I always shop on Wed so the plans overlap on MPM.

I also reviewed some recipes in the prior post! Check them out!

As always, visit Laura at OrgJunkie's for more wonderful menu plans!

Recipe Reviews!

2008-08-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

I've been trying a TON of new recipes in my menu plan lately and I've been really impressed with most of them! The only one we didn't enjoy was the Bubble Up Enchiladas. I was actually really surprised since a lot of people make them but for us, the biscuits were doughy in the middle and we thought there was too much "bread" in it. I prefer the normal enchiladas I make better. I think it's a good recipe but more of a personal dislike here.

The rest have been pretty great though. The absolute BEST recipe we've tried is the Crockpot Potato Chowder! I think I'm making it for the 3rd time in less than two months tomorrow! We didn't use bacon last time though DH seems to like the bacon. (I prefer it with just shredded cheese and also add a can of corn to the mix.) I'm SO excited to have found this recipe. My DH's favorite soup has always been Marie Callendar's potato cheese soup. He could eat a vat of it at a time. LoL So after having this soup, he said it was EXTREMLY close in taste to that soup. Well today, we happened to take the kids to MC for lunch and of course had this soup with our salad bar. And what do you know? DH and I BOTH like MINE better! Woohoo! Such a great (and really frugal) recipe! Plus it reheats great and since the kid's don't eat much at this point, we have leftovers for lunches!

The last entree recipe I have tried lately was Easiest Chicken And Biscuits. I really liked this one! DH liked it too though it wasn't his favorite. He thought it had too many biscuits in it and not enough chicken. He said he'd eat it again but would prefer it in the colder months. It was too heavy for a summer meal. I'll definately make it again come fall but will probably use less biscuits and maybe add a bag of frozen mixed veggies. It also reheated well when I took leftovers to work the next day.

I never got around to making the Potato Chip Mac and Cheese or the Homemade Chicken Nuggets. I'm going to hold off on those as a chips are a VERY bad thing to have in this household! They don't last long!

The other things I have made have been baked goods or side dishes. I'll save those reviews for another time. However, if you look back at some of my past MPM you will find great recipes for Homemade Hamburger Buns, Whole Wheat Torillas, Spinach Artichoke Dip and Breakfast Cookies. All of these will be made again in this household! (As will the Whole Wheat Waffles I made this week!)

Hope some of you will try these out for yourselves!

Menu Plan Monday~ August 11th

2008-08-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

I missed last week because we were out of town for my birthday! We had a blast but I'm ready to get back on track and back into our routines! My last menu plan from 2 weeks ago got tossed aside in the scramble to get ready for our trips. I ended up using some of the ingredients in other dishes so nothing went to waste.

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately and will try to post reviews this week. Some were awesome and have already been repeated multiple times (Crockpot Potato Chowder is a rave!). Others I keep putting on the menu and they don't get made for one reason or another (Easiest Chicken and Biscuits for example). I'm going to try and get to some this week and the rest next week.

My main goal for this week is to increase our veggie/fruit intake. Hubby and I aren't very good about that (though the girls tend to have a fruit/veggie at every meal) and it's showing in our overall health. Jason is a newly diagnosed (as of April) Type 2 Diabetic and while his levels are good, I know it's only because of his meds and not diet/exercise. I've also stalled in my weight loss and need to jumpstart it again!

As always, I shop Wednesdays and my budget is between $60-80. We're on our last can of formula and then we'll be switching to whole milk. Avery doesn't seem to want formula anymore (not sure if it's taste or just because her table food has increased so much) and I want to switch her a bit early any way so we can make sure she has no problems before our trip to Atlanta right after her birthday. That will definately help with the budget too!

Head to Laura's for more Menu Plans!

Monday 8/11- Turkey Bacon BLTs, Spinach Artichoke Dip/Chips
Tuesday 8/12- Breakfast- Eggs with Cheese, Sausage/Bacon, Biscuits/Gravy
Wednesday 8/13- Turkey Mushroom Burgers with Homemade Buns, Salad, Fruit
Thursday 8/14- Easiest Chicken and Biscuits, Salad
Friday 8/15- Red Beans/Rice, Turkey Sausage, Broccoli
Saturday 8/16- Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Salad
Sunday 8/17- Crockpot Potato Chowder, Corn Bread, Salad
Monday 8/18- Leftovers
Tuesday 8/19- Crockpot Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Carrots, Salad

Have a great week everyone! Come back to read my recipe reviews!

And BTW, it's almost 10pm and now I'm STARVING after doing my menu! Figures!

Menu Plan Monday- July 28th!

2008-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

Back to a normal menu this week! Hubby comes home Monday afternoon and doesn't leave again until the following week! Next week there won't be much of a plan because the girls and I will be headed to Mammoth while Jason is out of town.

For this week, I'm trying a bunch of new recipes! I'm hoping to still be able to keep my grocery bill down to $60-80 though I need a ton of ingredients for our dinners. Most I can get store brand though so I think it'll be fine.

I'll review the recipes next week! Now onto the menu plan!

Breakfasts: Waffles, whole wheat pancakes, bagels/cream cheese, eggs/bacon or sausage, Carnation instant breakfast, fruit

Lunches: Chef Boyardee, BLTS (turkey bacon), Tuna, PB&J, hotdogs, leftovers, fruit/veggies

Dinners:

Monday 7/28- Easiest Chicken and Biscuits

Tuesday 7/29- Stouffer's Manicotti, bread

Wednesday 7/30- Crockpot Potato Chowder, FF Cornbread

Thursday 7/31- Swedish Meatballs and homemade mashed potatoes

Friday 8/1- Potato Chip Mac & Cheese, Homemade Chicken nuggets, green beans

Saturday 8/2- Out with my dad for my birthday! Probably a steak place!

Sunday 8/3- Turkey/Mushrooms burgers with Homemade Buns, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Tortilla Chips

Monday 8/4- LEFTOVERS!

Head to Laura's for more great menus!

Tag! I'm It!

2008-07-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged bloggers blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

I was tagged by Elizabeth at Our Small Town Blessings

My Quirks:

1. I love the sound of running water. Since I was a kid, I've been known to sit in the bathroom with the shower running to relax and read a book. Such a waste of water but I can't help it!

2. I ama list junkie. I'm constantly making lists of random things (menu plans, cleaning lists, bills, gifts, etc.). I only use some of them for an actual purpose. The rest are more of a way to organize my thoughts!

3. I love grocery shopping. I used to go with my mom as a kid and got really excited about it. No idea why. I just think it's fun!

4. I read multiple books at a time. I'm constantly reading one of the Harry Potter books and at least one other fiction.

5. I am obsessed with timelines. I want things (like finishing school, having another baby, buying a house) to happen at specific times in the future. It frustrates me to know end if I don't have any control over the schedule.

6. I am horrible at cleaning/organizing. I lack motivation. However, I am an obsessive organizer when I finally do it. I organize clothing in closets by type and socks by color!

Tag! You're it!

Kylee at The Kerby Family
Lorie at Honey, I Shrank Myself
Kari at C'est la vie
Emily at Little Home
Laura at Heavenly Homemakers
Teresa at A Life At Home

Menu Plan Monday~ July 21st!

2008-07-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe July is coming to a close soon! This year is flying by! I'm already planning A-babe's first birthday... :(

I realized I haven't been blogging much (considering my last post was last week's MPM!) and my goal for August is to post one blog a day. And a picture every day as well! Anyone have any favorite memes they'd recommend I try?

Now onto the MPM!

Last week's menu went pretty well! The homemade tortillas (I'll find the recipe and post later.) turned out pretty well! They were fun (and cheap!) to make too! The only problem was the Weight Watchers points (2 each). Normally I use low carb 1pt tortillas. I'll make them again though!

I was also able to keep my grocery shopping to $60 for the week! It's definately feasible and I'm going to try and stick to it!

Homemade Hamburger Buns are on tomorrows menu. I'm hoping I can make them in the morning because we're going to my sister's in the afternoon to visit since she had surgery Friday. That way all we have to do is grill up the turkey burgers when we get home.

This week's menu is a bit off because DH is gone Tuesday-Monday so it's just me and the girls. I'm also getting my wisdom teeth out Friday so we're staying at my mom's Thurs-Sun (so I can have help with the girls and because she's watching them when I work Sunday). Meals are up in the air those days since I'm not sure what I can eat!

As always, my plans overlap because I shop on Wednesdays.

Breakfast

Monday 7/21- Whole wheat pancakes, fruit, turkey sausage
Tuesday 7/22- Work- Waffle, Carnation Instant Breakfast
Wednesday 7/23-
Thursday 7/24- Whole wheat pancakes, fruit, turkey sausage
Friday 7/25- Starbucks breakfast sandwich and coffee! Kids at Nana’s!
Saturday 7/26- No idea…depends on how I’m feeling.
Sunday 7/27- Work- Waffle, Carnation instant breakfast
Monday 7/28- Work- Egg white burrito
Tuesday 7/29- Work- Egg white burrito

Lunch

Monday 7/21- Grilled cheese, soup, carrots/dip, fruit
Tuesday 7/22- Work- Tuna sandwich, carrots/dip, pears
Wednesday 7/23- Mac & cheese, carrots/dip, fruit
Thursday 7/24- Out to eat at the mall.
Friday 7/25- Kid’s at Nana’s! Nothing for me. Getting my wisdom teeth out! L
Saturday 7/26- Depends on the teeth!
Sunday 7/27- Work- Boston Market
Monday 7/28- Work- Lean Cuisine, carrots/dip, pears
Tuesday 7/29- Work- Leftovers

Dinner

Monday 7/21- Hamburgers (with homemade buns), corn on the cob, oven fries
Tuesday 7/22- Sandwiches, chips, fruit (DH out of town)
Wednesday 7/23- Pizza!
Thursday 7/24- At Nana’s!
Friday 7/25- No idea…probably soup!
Saturday 7/26- At Nana’s!
Sunday 7/27- Breakfast for dinner! (Eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon)
Monday 7/28- Easiest Chicken and Biscuits (New recipe!)
Tuesday 7/29- Cheese Manicotti, bread, broccoli

Check out Laura's blog for more fantastic menus!

Menu Plan Monday~ July 14th!

2008-07-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already going to be Monday again! The week just flew by! I've been trying to do a lot of baking lately and am going to take it one step further this week in my quest to stick to a low budget ($80 a week plus an extra $100 a month for formula until September.). I'm going to attempt to make my own tortillas and hamburger buns. That'll save me a bit extra this week! I hope they turn out well!

I'm not sticking to WW very well lately but I'm going to try again this week! I really want to get down to my pre-preg weight soon! I'm going to try and have low point breakfasts/lunches and "normal" dinners like I used to. I'm not doing a day to day plan for breakfast/lunch tonight but I'll probably add it tomorrow.

Breakfasts will be whole wheat pancakes, Bagelfuls, eggs/turkey sausage, fruit etc. Nothing fancy this week! I do have a recipe I'm planning for the next week I think though...

Lunches will be leftovers, tuna sandwiches, fruit, carrots/dip, homemade chicken nuggets etc.

My dinner menus are going to start overlapping. I shop on Wednesdays at this point so dinners for the first Monday and Tuesday were technically last weeks menu. :)

Monday 7/14- Shake N Bake chicken, rice a roni, broccoli, rolls

Tuesday 7/15- Frozen pizza, carrots/dip, fruit

Wednesday 7/16- Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, fruit

Thursday 7/17- Pepper Bellies (Frito Pie), fruit

Friday 7/18- Tacos (with homemade tortillas)

Saturday 7/19- Crockpot Spaghetti (made last week and froze), bread

Sunday 7/20- Leftovers

Monday 7/21- Hamburgers (with homemade buns), corn on the cob, oven fries

Tuesday 7/22- Sandwiches, chips, fruit (DH out of town)

I'll post some of the recipes if all the new stuff turns out! :)

Visit Laura's blog for more MPMs!

Love is Patient, Love is Kind

Christmas Challenge~ Week 1 Weigh In

Halloween Candy...

Christmas Challenge~ Starting Weigh In

Having Trouble This Time...

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/12/11

First Day of School 2011!

Summer Fun

Making Our House A Home...

We're Back and Ready for Fall!

My Healthy Eater!

*~*~*7 Months Old*~*~*

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/17/11

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/10/11

A Milestone for Noah!

52 Weeks of Organizing!

Happy New Year 2011!

Menu Plan...Wednesday! 1/5/11

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/11/10

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/4/10

Menu Plan Monday~ 9/4/10

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/30/10

Prepping for School Lunches

Mammoth Trip~ August 2010

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/23/10

Alphabet Art Alley (C, D, E)

Flubber!!

Late Menu Plan Monday~ 8/9/10

Alphabet Art Alley!

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/2/10

From the Mouths of Babes...

What About Lunch?

Recipe: Turkey Tacos

Menu Plan...Wednesday 7/28/10

*~*~*1 Month Old!!*~*~*

Menu Plan Monday~ 7/12/10

Wordless Wednesday~ 7/7/10

Summer Time!

Menu Plan Monday~ 7/5/10

And We're BACK!

Menu Plan (Tuesday?) 8/31/09

Updates On Us!

A Month Ago...

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/24/09

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/17/09

Menu Plan Monday~ 8/10/09

I'm Back!

Menu Plan...Wednesday...5/27/09

Kitchen Inventory!

Menu Plan...uh Tuesday~ 5/12/09

Menu Plan Monday~ 5/4/09

New Stromboli Recipe!

New Design!

Menu Plan Monday~ 4/27/09

5 Things I'm Thankful For!

5 Things I'm Thankful For!

Patience...

Time to Go from 4 to 5!

Finding My Way To Him!

Menu Plan Monday~ 4/13/09!

Menu Plan Monday~ 04/06/09

Menu Plan Monday~ 3/30/09

Menu Plan...Err...Tuesday? 3/24/09

Menu Plan Monday~ 03/01/09

Change Your Thinking

Picture Tag

Menu Plan Monday~ 1/12/09

Simple Woman's Daybook

Menu Plan Monday! 1/5/09

SNOW!! In Palmdale!!!

New Layout!

Menu Plan Monday~ 12/14/08

MPM~ 12/1/08

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/24/08

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/17/08

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/10/08

Simple Woman's Daybook~ Week 1

Menu Plan Monday~ 11/03/08

Better Late Than Never! MPM 10/27/08

Menu Plan Monday~ 10/20/08

~~7 Months Old~~

~~1 Month Old!!~~

~~Happy Birthday Avery~~